How Things Change
by bryshenners
Summary: Sequel to The Lily. The group find that their lives after Hogwarts aren't going to be as simple as they had hoped.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So I promised you all a sequel here goes. Note to new readers, Please read my story The Lily first as this story is it's sequel so if you read this first some things might be confusing. Thanks to old readers, I hope you enjoy. **

******Disclaimer: I'm not claiming to own anything Harry Potter related, The characters, the world and the whole concept belongs to J K Rowling, I'm just a huge fan using my own imagination. Not to publish or plagiarize someone else's work. Some characters have been written in as family members of characters mentioned in Miss Rowling's series.**

* * *

September 1st. 11am. Lily smiled as she looked at the clock in the staff room. It was only a year ago that she was boarding the train for her last year at Hogwarts. How much had changed since then. She had started the year as Head Girl, perfect grades, great friends and she still detested the arrogant toerag who hassled her for six years.

But now she had graduated, still with perfect grades, she was training to be a healer at St Mungo's Hospital for magical maladies and injuries. And that boy who hassled her for six years? well he was now her boyfriend.

She took a sip of her tea when she sensed someone enter the room.

"Only last year we were going" said a familiar voice

Lily smiled as she turned around. A tall man with messy black hair, hazel eyes and round shaped glasses stood in the doorway. Lily stood up from the armchair she had been sitting in and went over to him.

"I thought you were busy with Sirius today?" Lily asked

James wrapped his arms around her waist.

"To be truthful I'd rather see my girlfriend on her lunch break" James smiled

Lily chuckled.

"I appreciate you coming here but in other words, Sirius and Marlene took a sick day didn't they?" she asked eyebrows raised.

James rolled his eyes, Lily would always see through his little white lies.

"Yeah they had a pretty bad row last night apparently" said James

Lily rolled her eyes, she knew what the argument had been about. Marlene had a pregnancy scare and when she told Sirius, they had spent god knows how many hours arguing over whether they were ready for a kid, whose fault it was for the scare and so on. The one thing both Lily and James knew about their best friends was they always made up in a way only both of them liked.

"Frank also asked to see me" James stated as Lily moved away from him to wash up her mug.

"On?" Lily asked intrigued

"Said he needed some advice" James shrugged

Lily finished washing up her mug and set it down on the draining board. She walked back over to James and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You got any plans tonight?" she asked

James shook his head.

"Can I stay over?" Lily blushed

James grinned and moved his head to her ear.

"Only if you wear your uniform" He said huskily.

Lily grinned as she gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"I finish at six, pick me up?" she asked

"Of course" James replied as he kissed her cheek.

Lily smiled and she blew him a kiss as she went back to her ward.

* * *

James apparated outside the visitor's entrance to the Ministry of Magic. He dialled the numbers and stated that he was there to visit Frank Longbottom. He pinned the badge to the front of his robes and then waited as he was taken to the main reception. He found Frank waiting for him in the waiting area. James shook his hand and then sat down next to him.

"How's it going Frank?" James asked

Frank was shaking with nerves.

"Frank, are you okay?" James asked

"Yeah just need to ask you something" Frank mumbled

James looked at his friend with concern. After a few minutes and a few deep breaths to calm himself down, Frank turned to James.

"Will you help me pick out a ring?" he asked

James's eyes widened.

"You're not?" James questioned with surprise

Frank beamed and nodded.

"I'm asking Alice to marry me on our one year mark" He said proudly

James clapped his friend on the shoulder.

"I'm happy for you mate, of course I'll help you" said James

"Thanks mate, I finish at four if you wanna meet me, there's this nice little jewelers in Diagon Alley we could go to" James suggested

"See you then mate" James smiled

"I've got to get back to the Auror office, I'll see you at four James" said Frank and he headed back to the lifts.

* * *

Marlene woke up at noon that day and stretched.

"Ouch" groaned the man next to her

Marlene rolled her eyes and poked Sirius in the ribs.

"Time to get up lazy" She yawned

"Marley baby, go back to sleep" Sirius groaned as he buried his face in his pillow.

Marlene kicked his lower leg and then got out of the bed. She went over to the chest of drawers and started pulling on some clothes.

"Marley come back to bed" Sirius begged

Marlene raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, I'll make us some lunch" Marlene offered

Sirius groaned and got out of bed, Marlene smiled to herself. Since she and Sirius started staying together she found that if she promised him sex or food she'd get her own way in the end. Sirius dressed and then they headed down to Marlene's kitchen. Marlene waved her wand and started cooking the bacon whilst the bread buttered itself and the orange juice poured itself into two glasses. Sirius sat at the small wooden round table and picked up that day's copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Any news?" Marlene asked as she flipped the bacon.

Sirius didn't look up from the paper.

"No just more muggle deaths" He mused

Marlene had finished cooking the bacon and placed it onto the bread and then cut herself and Sirius some sandwiches. She took the plates over to where Sirius was sat and sat down next to him. She passed him his plate as he took a mouthful of orange juice. He folded the paper in half and set it back down on the table.

"So what do we do today?" Sirius asked as he took a bite out of his sandwich.

"I think we should snuggle on the sofa and watch some muggle movies Lily lent me" Marlene said sweetly

Sirius smiled.

"Okay but only if we have round two later" he said mischievously

Marlene grinned and nodded..

* * *

James met Frank in the reception at four o'clock that afternoon. Frank greeted him and then they went to Diagon Alley. Once in the jewelers, Frank was observing the different ring selection that they had. He was having a hard time choosing which one.

"She deserves the best" Frank stated as he handed back yet another ring that he chose not to buy.

James nodded in agreement, that's how he felt about Lily, he felt that Lily always deserved the best. James pointed out a simple diamond ring with two little diamonds on the side of the big one.

"That's nice" said Frank as the jeweler handed it to him to have a closer look.

"I think she'd like it" James smiled

Frank purchased the ring and then they went for a drink in the leaky cauldron. James got them two butterbeers and they sat down at the bar.

"How are you going to do it?" James asked as he took a swig of his drink.

"I'm taking her out for a meal, there's this restaurant in muggle London where Alice's dad proposed to her mum, I'm going to take her there" Frank said taking a mouthful of his drink.

James smiled.

"Why muggle London?" asked James curiously

Frank smiled a little, "Alice's mum is fascinated by muggles".

James smiled and took another mouthful of his butterbeer.

* * *

It was just past five in the afternoon. Lily had been allowed to finish early. She was sat in the staffroom reading a letter she had received from Mary.

_Dear Lily_

_It's been a while since I last wrote you. How are you? How's the healer training going? How's things with James? _

_Remus and I are still at my parent's house. They adore him Lily! They couldn't be happier that I'm happy. Although I still haven't told them about him being a werewolf. I don't want them treating him different. You know what muggles are like and my parents, well let's just say that if I told them about Remus, my dad would be trying to buy silver bullets. _

_It's been nice to get away from the wizarding world. Although Remus is finding it a bit difficult. I'm meeting his parents next week as it coincides with the full moon and according to Remus, his parents built a vault like room that he used to go in when he was a child. Apparently it keeps him secure. His parents hated doing it to him but apparently Remus insisted on it. _

_Remus is okay, just looking a little more tired and weary than normal. Mum keeps fussing over him, insists that he eat extra at meal times, she's overprotective my mother. I'm surprised she hasn't scared him off. But he said he loves her shepherd's pie so I guess he's not complaining. _

_I'll be back to work in two weeks. I'll owl you when I'm back, maybe we can do lunch? Just you, me, Marley and Alice? It's been ages since we were last together just us girls._

_Love from  
_

_Mary_

Lily sighed happily, she was glad to hear that her friend's were okay. Just then, there was a knock on the door. She looked up to see James stood there.  
She checked her watch, it was only twenty minutes past five. She rose and walked over to him.

"You're early" She said

James chuckled.

"And you always complain that I'm late" he said

Lily took his hand and they apparated back to James's parents house. Lily hung up her cloak and went upstairs to change. James had arranged his house elf to pick up an overnight bag for her. She changed into a pair of jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt and then headed back downstairs. James was sat in the living room reading a note that his mother had left him.

"Where's the parents?" she asked

"Dad's taken Mum away to America for a week" James explained

"Awww Mummy's not going to be cooking" she teased

James pulled her onto his lap and poked her playfully.

"Why don't you stay for the week? Mum won't mind" James stated

Lily smiled.

"That'd be nice but remember we have Petunia's wedding on Sunday" she replied

James groaned, he had met Lily's sister and her fiance a few months previously. The encounter had not ended well. It took Lily's parents to convince Petunia to allow them to come to the wedding and Petunia agreed but didn't want Lily as a bridesmaid.

"Do we have to?" James pleaded

Lily nodded. James groaned again.

"I don't want to either, I don't like Vernon but she's my sister and it took Mum and Dad a lot of persuading Petunia" Lily explained

James mumbled something under his breath but Lily didn't hear what he said.

A few hours later, Lily had cooked them sausage and mash for dinner whilst they watched one of Lily's movies on the TV. It took Lily a lot of persuading James to get one for whenever she stayed over. Near the end, James noticed that Lily had fallen asleep on him. He chuckled quietly and kissed her forehead. He turned off the TV and carried her to his bedroom. He set her on the bed and climbed in next to her, not bothering to change. He pulled the covers up and made sure Lily was warm enough. Just before he turned off the beside lamp he looked over to Lily who was muttering in her sleep. He smiled as he moved a stand of hair away from her face when he froze.

"I love you James" Lily muttered in her sleep, then she rolled over to face him. James was a little shocked, they hadn't said that to each other yet, but it felt nice hearing it whether Lily was aware she said it or not. He smiled to himself as he laid down and then switched the lamp off.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Lily woke up in James's arms. She smiled to herself as she snuggled herself closer to him. Even though he was sleeping he automatically held on tighter to her. She sighed happily. All that time she had spent detesting him, she never knew just how much he cared about her.

She felt James move behind her, and he rose so he was above her. He kissed her cheek and then yawned.

"Morning beautiful" he yawned

Lily smiled and turned to face him.

"Morning yourself" she smiled

James returned the smile and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Are you at work today?" he asked

Lily shook her head.

"What would you like to do?" James asked

Lily hesitated for a minute.

"Can we go to muggle London today?" she asked

James looked at her curiously.

"Why muggle London?" he asked

"It's been a while since I've been in the muggle world, it will make a nice change" Lily replied

"muggle London it is then" he said

Lily looked at him curiously.

"You're in a cheerier mood than normal" she stated

James kissed her nose.

"I have to say Evans that you say the loveliest things in your sleep" he chuckled

Lily blushed pink.

"What did I say?" she asked mortified.

James blinked then smiled at her.

"You said you loved me" he said quietly

Lily's heart hammered in her chest, _oh god she thought, we haven't said that to each other yet. _

"I love you Lily Evans" James whispered

Lily smiled warmly as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I love you James Potter" She said

James closed the gap between their mouths and kissed her passionately.

* * *

Marlene awoke the the feeling of a strong leg kicking her in the back. She rubbed the spot where her boyfriend had kicked her and poked him hard in the ribs. But Sirius was in a deep sleep and only snorted louder at her action. She rolled her eyes and dragged herself out of bed. She went down to the kitchen and made herself some toast.

An owl had already dropped off a copy of the Daily Prophet and she began to read whilst she ate her breakfast. There was nothing out of the ordinary, more muggles and muggleborns had been found dead. She felt herself shiver, she hated reading about these deaths and knowing that Voldemort was behind them.

The clock in the hall chimed ten o'clock. Crap. She was going to be late for work. She ran back to the bedroom to get dressed. Sirius sat up and looked at her.

"Now dearie, you need to get undressed and come back to bed" He teased

Marlene chucked her childhood teddy bear at him from the shelf it had been sitting on.

"I'm late" she moaned as she searched for her shoes.

Sirius chuckled.

"Sirius have you seen my other shoe?" she groaned

"You mean this one?" he asked holding it up.

Marlene dived for it but Sirius held it higher.

"Black give it to me now" she growled

He raised an eyebrow, "Is the ministry really going to miss the girl who makes the coffee?" he teased

Marlene flushed scarlet in fury.

"I don't just make the coffee" she growled

"Oh sorry and the girl who does the filing and note taking?" he asked

Marlene punched him on the arm and he dropped the shoe.

"Ouch Marley, I was only joking" he whined

Marlene stared daggers at him.

"I work as a secretary in the Improper Use of Magic office Black and where do you work?" she asked

Sirius glared at her.

"That's what I thought Paper Boy" she laughed

She kissed his cheek and then flooed to the ministry.

* * *

Alice was sat at her desk in the Auror office drinking a cup of coffee. Her third since she arrived at the ministry at six that morning. She had been feeling rather worn out due to training lately and moving in with Frank. She felt even more down about herself as she felt that Frank's mother always criticized her. And Frank had been acting weird lately too. She was wondering if he was having second thoughts about them moving in together.

It was September 2nd, their one year anniversary since he had asked her out. She wanted to cook him a nice meal and when she suggested it he just shrugged off her nice gesture.

Maybe he no longer loved her? It broke her heart just thinking about it.

She was in the middle of thinking if she should talk to Frank about it when he came over to her.

"Hey baby" he said brightly

Alice blinked in confusion.

"You're in a better mood today" she said grumpily

Frank raised an eyebrow and then pulled a rose out of his sleeve and handed it to her. Alice's heart skipped a beat, maybe she was just imagining things.

"Oh Frank" she said tears welling up in her eyes as she took the rose from him.

"Happy Anniversary Alice" he said kissing her forehead

Alice smiled at her boyfriend, touched by his gesture.

"After work I'm taking you out for dinner" Frank said proudly

Alice took his hand happily.

"Honey you don't have-

"Don't be silly I want to" he said warmly

He kissed her cheek before heading back to his desk.

Alice sighed happily, maybe he just wanted to surprise her after all.

* * *

Lily and James walked along the river, eating a portion of chips between them. Lily couldn't stop looking at her boyfriend happily. James caught her eye and smiled warmly.

"You never told me what Frank wanted" Lily said

James swallowed his food and smiled.

"He's proposing tonight" James said happily.

Lily squealed happily.

"You don't even know if she'll say yes" James laughed

Lily rolled her eyes as James chucked the rubbish in a bin.

"Alice will, she's madly in love with him" Lily stated

James took her hand.

"Just like I am with you" He smiled

Lily kissed his cheek as they sat down on a bench.

"I think it's a bit soon for us to be engaged thought" Lily said quietly

"One day though" James said thoughtfully

Lily nodded in agreement. For now she was as happy as she could be with the boy she loved.

* * *

Marlene was sitting on the floor by her desk sorting through the five drawer filing cabinet behind it. She hated Sirius right now. Because of the shoe incident it had made her even later than she would've been if he hadn't teased her. Her boss had been very annoyed and as punishment, made her sort through the filing cabinet in alphabetical order without magic.

It felt like she was in detention all over again. Like the time she had been caught skiving in sixth year to have a secret snogging session with Thomas Jones from Hufflepuff. He had been in the year above them and she had a huge crush on him. McGonagal had caught them and gave her a week's worth of detentions for skipping her class. Lily had stated that boys would always be her weakness, especially a boy she really liked.

She sat cross legged on the floor as she sorted through the letter S. She sighed to herself. It was her fault that she lost track of time but Sirius hadn't helped matters. She guessed he was probably still in bed right now having yet another 'sick day'. To her surprise he knocked on the office door. She looked up at him and then looked away again, she was mad at him right now and he knew full well that his charm could make her forgive him.

"What do you want?" she asked as she started on the letter T.

"I'm sorry for making you late" he apologized

Marlene looked up at him and blinked.

"It's okay" she said still a bit mad.

Sirius sat down next to her.

"Marley let me make it up to you, let me cook you dinner tonight" he offered.

Marlene blinked.

"You cook dinner?" she asked in disbelief

He nodded seriously. She smiled a little.

"Alright Black, I finish at six" she said

Sirius grinned and quickly gave her a peck.

"See you then Marley" he said as he left the office.

* * *

Frank and Alice left the office and apparated into muggle London. Alice smiled as she saw they were opposite a restaurant called Tony's. She turned to Frank and whispered "Have you been talking to my parents?. Frank nodded as they crossed the road and entered the restaurant. The waiter sat them down at their table with menus. Frank looked at his girlfriend adoringly. He had never seen her look more beautiful then she did tonight. She wore a light blue dress with a matching clutch purse that matched her eyes. Her light brown hair flowed freely down her back. The candlelight lit her eyes up like a warm summer's day. Alice looked at Frank and smiled.

The waiter brought over their meals, Frank ordered steak and chips, Alice a chicken salad. They tucked into their food and conversed over how their days had been. After dinner Frank poured them some champagne.

"Frank this is expensive" Alice gushed

"You're worth every penny" Frank smiled as he passed her a glass.

She raised her glass as if toasting him and took a sip before placing it down on the table.

"Alice, I've never been as happy as I am with you" Frank said warmly

Alice smiled and took his hand.

"You're everything to me and I only want you in my future" he continued

"You're everything to me too" Alice smiled

Frank moved off of his seat and bent down on one knee before her. Alice's eyes widened. He pulled out a velvet box and opened it to reveal the diamond ring that James helped him pick out the day before.

"Frank" she whispered happily

"Alice Prewett will you marry me?" Frank smiled

"Yes" she squealed happily.

Frank, sitll smiling, placed the ring on her wedding finger, a perfect fit. Then he kissed her happily. After a minute Alice threw her arms around Frank and hugged him. She had never been happier than she was right at this moment, She felt foolish to think that he wanted to end things with her. She was glad she accepted his proposal for she couldn't see anyone else being her husband, she could only see Frank.

* * *

**a/n: so what do you think so far? review please :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Lily rushed around trying to find her purse. She was late already, she was supposed to be meeting the girls in Diagon Alley for lunch. James was sat in the kitchen reading the paper and holding her purse in his hand. Lily burst into the room and started searching in draws and cupboards, not realizing it was in her boyfriend's hand. James chuckled and without looking up cleared his throat. Lily turned to face him about to ask him to help her when she saw what he was holding. Lily took it from him and stuffed it in her bag.

"What time will you be home?" James asked still reading the paper

"I'll be home for dinner but I've got the night shift tonight" Lily explained

James nodded as Lily kissed his cheek and rushed out the door.

"Lily?" James called

"James I'm already late-

James hurried into the hall and quickly kissed her.

"I love you" He smiled

She returned the smile and then headed out the door.

* * *

Mary was sat in the leaky cauldron waiting for her friends. She hadn't seen them for three weeks and it had been almost two months since they had all gotten together just as girls. She checked her watch, all three of them were already five minutes late. She finished her drink and went up to the bar to get another gillywater. Lily entered the Leaky Cauldron and saw Mary stood at the bar.

"Mary" she called as she made her way over to her friend.

Mary smiled and threw her arms around Lily. They hugged each other tightly then let go so Lily could order a gillywater. They paid for their drinks and sat down at a table. They were joined by Marlene and Alice. The girls all greeted each other with a hug, Alice and Marlene ordered two gillywaters and then returned to the table.

"So how was your holiday Mary?" Alice asked taking a sip of her drink.

"Absolutely lovely" Mary sighed happily.

"Lucky cow to have three weeks off, the troll won't let me have a day let alone three weeks" Marlene grumbled

"No you just take sickies eh Marls?" Lily grinned

Marlene blushed and sipped her drink.

"His parents were lovely" Mary smiled

"How's Remus?" asked Lily

"Tired" Mary sighed

"It's no wonder with his condition" said Marlene

Mary narrowed her eyes and stared at Marlene.

"Sirius told me" stated Marlene

"Told you what?" Alice asked curiously

Mary relaxed slightly as Marlene whispered into Alice's ear. Alice's eyes widened in shock. Alice looked at Mary and patted her hand sympathetically.

"It's a lot to take on Mary" she said admirably.

"We take precautions but I love him" said Mary draining her glass.

"That's really lovely Mary" Alice smiled

Mary returned the smile then Lily turned to Alice.

"Let's see it then Alice" Lily smiled

Alice grinned and then showed off the ring that sat on her wedding finger. Marlene and Mary's eye widened in surprise.

"Nooo way" said Mary

"Since when?" Marlene asked

"On our one year, he took me to the restaurant where my dad proposed" Alice sighed happily

"Awww that's romantic" Mary gushed

"I call head bridesmaid" Lily called finishing her drink.

Marlene and Mary stared evilly at Lily.

"Why do you get ?" asked Marlene

"Because I cared enough to call it first" Lily laughed

"Just don't do pink or red dresses Ali, they'll clash with Lily's hair" Marlene chuckled.

Lily nudged Marlene in the ribs playfully.

"So how's things with Sirius?" Mary asked Marlene

Marlene rolled her eyes.

"He's a pain in the rear end" Marlene groaned

Lily chuckled, the girls turned to look at her.

"What? I was just thinking that he isn't much of pain if you take a 'sickie'" Lily teased

Marlene blushed again. Mary and Alice looked at Marlene eyebrows raised.

"Marlene Rose McKinnon" Alice tutted

"The sex must be great" Mary said quietly

"As a matter of fact it is" Marlene grinned

Lily rolled her eyes.

"And what about Lily and Jamie boy?" asked Alice

Lily smiled as the girls turned to her.

"Well we told each other we loved each other" Lily said

"Awwww" gushed Alice

"To think only a year ago you hated him" said Mary

"She never hated him that much" Marlene stated

"No seeing as you schemed with him" Lily smirked

"Hey I did you a favour" Marlene chuckled.

"That you did" Lily agreed.

Mary stretched, leaning back on her chair.

"I'm dreading going back to work" Mary moaned

"I'm dreading Petunia's wedding" said Lily

"Good luck with that" Alice smiled

Lily checked her watch and then put her glass on the table.

"Let's go shopping girls" she said with a grin

The girls all smiled as they walked arm in arm with each other and headed towards Diagon Alley.

* * *

**a/n: Next chapter will be Petunia's wedding. **

**What do you think so far? please review :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Sunday morning came around rather quickly. Lily got out of bed and headed down to the kitchen to make herself some toast. She yawned as she put two slices of bread in the toaster and popped it down so it could cook. She smiled to herself as she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist. James kissed her neck as Lily closed her eyes, she loved the sensation of James's lips on her skin.

James placed a path of kisses from the bottom of her neck to behind the sensitive spot behind her ear. Lily moaned softly. James grinned to himself.

"Come back to bed beautiful?" he whispered

The toast popped out of the toaster and Lily opened her eyes. She took the toast and placed it on a plate and started to butter it.

"Lily?" asked James

Lily turned around and smiled and then sat at the table in the adjoining dining room. James rolled his eyes and sat opposite her.

"Lily, come back to bed?" James asked hopefully

Lily giggled.

"I've got to get ready, the wedding is in three hours" she said

"Do I have to go?" James whined

Lily rolled her eyes.

"If you go, I promise that tomorrow we'll stay in bed all day" Lily promised

James perked up a bit after that.

Lily finished her toast and then headed for the shower. James went into the en-suite and washed. Lily came back into the bedroom to dress as James started shaving. She cast a hair drying spell on her hair and tied it up into a bun at the back of her head. She pulled an emerald green dress from her wardrobe and gently stepped into it. James came out of the bathroom, freshly shaved face, a tie wrapped around his shoulders waiting to be tied up. He gently zipped Lily's dress up and kissed her cheek. Lily turned and did the tie for him.

"I don't see why I have to dress like this" he said shifting uncomfortably.

"Because Vernon is a muggle, the only ones who know about me and you being magical are my parents and Petunia and let's face it, Petunia thinks I'm a freak" Lily stated as she tightened the tie around James's neck. James did up his suit jacket and smiled as Lily pulled on the lily necklace with the emerald gem in the middle of it around her neck.

"You look beautiful" he said breathlessly

Lily smiled as she pulled on a pair of silver high heels.

"You scrub up well too Potter" she grinned

James smiled as they exited the bedroom and went downstairs. They would have apparated but Petunia insisted on 'no funny business' so Lily's mum agreed to pick them up. Lily's mum Rose was stood by the car waiting for them. James locked the house up whilst Lily ran down the steps to hug her mother.

"Darling you look wonderful" Rose complimented

"Thanks mum, you remember James?" Lily asked

James shook Rose's hand.

"It's lovely to see you again Mrs Evans" said James politely

"Such a lovely boy, I don't know why you ever complained about him over the years Lily, he's quite charming" said Rose as she got in on the driver's side.

Lily looked up at James who was grinning. She rolled her eyes and went to get in the back of the car but James stopped her.

"So you even talked about me to your parents before we were dating?" James asked

"You annoyed me so much" said Lily with a little smiled.

Rose wound the window down.

"I knew she always liked you James, it was always Potter this and Potter that" Rose teased

"Mother" Lily whined

James grinned and got in the passenger side as Lily got in the back. It always was like her parents to wind her up in front of James. James found it amusing, just like Lily found it amusing when Dorea told James off. They drove along in the car listening to the radio. James only lived an hour away from where the wedding was being held in a church.

"Has Tuney got cold feet yet?" asked Lily

"Not really dear she's rather excited" said Rose

Lily nodded, happy for her sister.

"Don't feel like she hates you Lily, she's always been jealous since that nice professor came and explained about your gift" Rose smiled

Lily sighed.

"I never wanted it" Lily admitted

James looked round at her.

"Don't say that, you're extraordinary Lily, if you didn't have magic I would never have met you" he said warmly

Lily smiled at her boyfriend, he always said the right thing to cheer her up. They parked down the road from the church and then walked. Vernon was already inside with his best man and Lily's father John was stood outside with Vernon's parents. They joined John outside the church. John kissed his wife's cheek and then hugged Lily and shook hands with James.

"Keith, Polly this is my other daughter Lily and her boyfriend James" said John brightly as Lily and James shook hands with Vernon's parents.

"So you're Petunia's little sister" said Polly

"Yes" Lily smiled

"What is it you do now you've left school?" asked Keith

"I'm studying to be a nurse" Lily said

"Really? Petunia says that you weren't sure of a career path?" Polly questioned her

"Well I was unsure but I decided to be a nurse" said Lily

"Our daughter Marge was unsure too you know, now she works with rescue dogs" said Keith proudly

Lily smiled as Vernon's parents went back inside. Lily and James followed only to find that Petunia and Vernon had sat them at the very back of the church. It was almost as if Petunia wanted to deny that she was, in any way, related to Lily. The wedding marched played slowly on the organ as John walked in, arm in arm, with Petunia. She wore a Cinderella style wedding dress with a netted veil. Her brown hair pinned back tightly. Lily could see her father smiling proudly as he walked Petunia to the alter where Vernon stood smiling. She watched as her father handed Petunia over to Vernon and everyone sat back down in their seats. The vicar said his sermons, the guests sung a few hymns which James kept looking weirdly at Lily, he had never experienced this before. Then the vicar asked Petunia and Vernon to make their vows to one another before placing the wedding band on one another's finger. It was the little kiss that her sister shared with her new husband that made her feel uncomfortable. Petunia had never been one for affection in public.

The wedding was over, Petunia didn't make eye contact with Lily as she now left the church as Mrs Vernon Dursley. At the reception Lily and James were sat at the back of the room yet again. They didn't really pay attention to the speeches, they just tucked into their three course meal that was laid before them.

The evening entertainment was no better. James and Lily overheard Vernon talking about them to his parents. He just referred to James as 'some magician' when his parents asked what James did for a living. James found it rather amusing even though he had explained to Vernon that while he was technically unemployed, his family were rather rich so he could support himself and Lily if needed. But Vernon had mistook him to be mocking him and had left their first meeting in a huff. James promised Lily he'd make it up with Vernon, but every time James tried to speak to Vernon, he would just brush James off like a dead bug on his sleeve.

They watched as the bride and groom took to the dance floor to have their first dance as a married couple. James caught Lily's gaze.

"Dance with me?" he asked

Lily smiled and nodded as she took James's hand and he led them onto the dance floor. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist and then slowly they moved around the room. She couldn't help but stare into his eyes, it made her forget how much she was having a bad time at her own sister's wedding. James kissed her lightly on the lips and she couldn't help but smile. He made her feel absolutely wonderful.

After the dance, the newlyweds said their goodbyes and left for their honeymoon. That would be the last time Lily would ever see her sister. Lily and James decided to head home, she said goodbye to her parents and various family friends and then she and James apparated back to James's house.

Once inside the house they saw a letter waiting for them with a phoenix tail feather on the kitchen table. They looked at one another. They knew who sent it before they even opened the letter. They only knew one person who owned a phoenix.

James opened the letter and read aloud:

_Dear Lily and James_

_If you are able and willing, I would very much like you to come for a meeting at my office on 4th October at 11pm. Tell no one of this invitation. _

_Albus Dumbledore. _

Lily looked at James with only one question in her eyes, what did Dumbledore want with them?


	5. Chapter 5

The village of Hogsmeade was silent that night. James and Lily had apparated right outside The Three Broomsticks. Lily looked towards the castle that held so much mysterious and smiled. She had wanted to see it again. James took her hand and they walked towards the castle.

"Wonder what Dumbledore wants?" Lily mused

James shrugged, he was just as curious as Lily since they received Dumbledore's letter.

They went through the gates that opened up onto the driveway. They continued to walk on the gravel path and smiled as they watched Hagrid go into his hut. Once they reached the entrance hall they saw some familiar faces. Alice, Frank, Marlene, Sirius, Remus and Peter stood by the staircase smiling at them.

"Alright Prongs?" asked Sirius

"Not too bad" replied James

Marlene hugged Lily and then the four of them ascended the staircase.

"What are you guys here for?" asked Lily

"Dumbledore wanted to see us" said Marlene

"Same here" James muttered

They reached Dumbledore's office, said the password and walked up the staircase. They knocked on the door and entered when someone opened the door for them.

"Ah the final four are here" smiled Dumbledore.

They sat down in the last four seats available and looked around the room to see who was there.

"Let's do the introductions" suggested Dumbledore.

"Gideon and Fabian Prewett" said a man sitting next to Dumbledore's desk. Both brothers had muddy brown hair and the same big nose. Although when the man indicated to his brother Fabian, Lily noticed that Gideon had a receding hairline.

"Dorcus Meadowes" a woman with black hair smiled.

"Elphias Doge" said the man next to Dorcus.

"Alastor Moody" grunted an auror who Frank and Alice recognised

"Edgar Bones" said a man with shoulder length wavy brown hair.

The group introduced themselves and looked at Dumbledore quizzically. Dumbledore smiled, his eyes sparkling behind his spectacles.

"I have invited you all here this evening to put a proposal to you" Dumbledore explained

No one interrupted him, not even McGonagal.

"I have founded a secret society that's whole purpose to is to put an end to Voldemort" he carried on

Still no one interrupted.

"I would like you all to consider my proposal, really consider what I'm asking of you all" Dumbledore smiled

There was a brief silence when Dumbledore chuckled.

"I meant consider it for a few days, not a few minutes" he smiled.

"In that case, I need a drink" said Alastor

"Let's go back to mine guys?" James suggested to the group

The group murmured in agreement and said their goodbyes. They headed back down through the castle, not saying a word until they were back at James's house.

Once at James's house, Lily put the kettle on while the group made themselves at home in the living room. The kettle poured eight cups of tea and then put themselves on a tray which Lily carried through to the living room. She sat herself next to James and Marlene while everyone helped themselves to a cup.

"So what do you guys think?" asked Remus

"I think it's a good idea" Sirius grinned

"That's because you're still a boy at heart and the thrill makes it fun" snapped Marlene

"Well Frank and I are training to be dark wizard catchers, it's what I'm doing for a living" Alice stated

"Personally, I think it's all down to our own beliefs" said Remus

"It's certainly risky" said Peter

"I think maybe we need to discuss it with our partners" said James looking at Lily

Lily nodded in agreement.

"How come Mary wasn't there Remus?" asked Marlene

"She had to work, I'll explain it to her when I see her tomorrow" Remus explained

They drank their tea in silence, but all thinking the same thing. Should they join Dumbledore's order?

"Right we'll be off" said Sirius as he and Marlene rose from the sofa.

"Try and get a good nights sleep Padfoot" James teased

Marlene grinned "I can't make any promises on that"

The group laughed as Sirius and Marlene left the house. They stayed up chatting some more about Dumbledore's proposal when Peter looked at the clock to see it was just after two in the morning. Frank, Alice and Peter said their goodbyes and left.

"Not going back to Mary?" asked James as Lily cleared up all the empty cups and headed to the kitchen.

"She's working most nights now, apparently news doesn't stop when you work on the Prophet" sighed Remus

"How's the job hunting going for you?" James asked

"Not so good" Remus sighed again

James hesitated, he wanted to support Remus financially but he didn't want to hurt Remus's pride or feelings.

"Moony, my offer still stands" said James quietly

Remus smiled weakly.

"Thanks James, but I couldn't-

"Move in here, I can support you. I know it's hard for you to be able to get a job and I want to help" said James

"James I-

"Remus you don't have to fell bad, I just want to help my best friend" James explained

Remus sighed, James sensed he was admitting defeat.

"I don't want our friendship to be ruined if you support me" Remus explained

James smiled.

"It won't, we have a strong friendship" said James

"That we do" Remus agreed

"So accept my offer" smiled James

Remus sighed again and looked James in the eye.

"Alright but it doesn't mean I feel good about it" Remus said

James smiled at his friend.

"So which room do you want?" asked James with a grin.


	6. Chapter 6

Mary stretched back on chair and let out a loud yawn. She looked at her watch and sighed. It was nearly 3am, and she still hadn't finished work yet. She had wanted to be a journalist even before she found out she was a witch. Her parents, as muggles, always said she'd be able to work for a top newspaper in London and earn thousands of pounds per year. Then she got her letter to Hogwarts. At first her parents had been a little shocked, surely there was something funny going on? But then when they thought back over the years at all the things Mary had done, she had once given the cat a tiny electric shock that made it's fur stand up on end. Now she was beginning to rethink her career at the prophet.

She wrote a tiny column in the paper about best buys in the wizarding world. It proved popular with the readers as she received letters on a weekly basis from readers thanking her for saving them money. But due to a printing fault with the printing machine, Mary had been stuck at the office for longer than her boss had promised.

She went back to her report and mindlessly scribbled away at her report on what cauldrons were better for potion brewing when there was a knock on her office door. She looked up and smiled as her boss came in with two mugs.

"I thought you could use a coffee" he smiled

Mary took the mug and returned the smile. Her boss Marcus Smith was a junior editor on the paper in charge of the purchasing section of the paper.

"Thanks Mark" she sighed rubbing her eyes

"Nearly done?" asked Mark taking a gulp of his coffee

"Nearly, just need to conclude" yawned Mary

Mark took the parchment and read through what she had already written so far. Just then an owl swooped into the office and dropped a letter on the desk. Mary picked it up and opened it.

_Mary_

_I'm staying at James's tonight as I assume you're still working. Owl me when you get home, we need to talk. _

_-Remus._

Mary sighed and chucked the letter in her bag. Mark put the report back on the desk and looked at her concerned.

"Problems at home?" he asked

"My boyfriend says we need to talk" said Mary leaning back on her chair and drinking her coffee.

"Mary, don't let work come between you and your boyfriend" said Mark

"I need to work, I've dreamt of this my entire life" Mary explained

Mark took her hand and squeezed it sympathetically.

"I know you've just had three weeks off but go home, I'll finish off the report" Mark offered

Mary smiled, stood up and hugged her boss.

"Thanks Mark, I owe you one" Mary beamed

Mark smiled at her as she left the office. Mary got the the lifts and pressed the button, the doors opened and she got in the lift. It slowly went down to the ground floor and Mary exited the building. Once outside she apparated back to her little one bedroom flat and opened her front door. Once inside she went into the kitchen to see that her owl Maurice was sat on the table waiting for her, she fed him an owl treat and pulled a piece of parchment and a quill out of her bag.

_Remus_

_I'm home now, come over in the morning for breakfast? We can talk then._

_Love_

_ Mary._

She tied the letter to Maurice's leg and carried him over to the back door. She opened it and watched as her barn owl flew off into the night.

* * *

Alice tossed and turned in bed that night. She couldn't sleep as she had been thinking about the pros and cons of Dumbledore's proposal since she and Frank had returned home. She was training to be an auror so stopping Voldemort was already her job so she'd like to join the order, her concern was that Dumbledore had asked so few to join him. Her cousins Gideon and Fabian had already agreed to join, their sister Molly would probably have joined if asked but she was pregnant with twins and already had three older boys. Her friends would all make up their own minds about Dumbledore's proposal, but she was concerned that if she had to lead a double life, would it eventually take over her life? she didn't like to be out of control.

Frank turned on the bedside lamp and looked at her.

"Can't sleep either?" he asked

"No" she sighed as she snuggled in closer to him. Frank kissed her forehead and wrapped an arm around her.

"What's wrong?" asked Frank

"Just thinking about Dumbledore's proposal" she said quietly.

Frank nodded.

"He asked so little" said Alice

"Maybe he can only trust a few with this" mused Frank

"Maybe" Alice agreed

Frank sat up a little more and rested his head on top of hers.

"Do you want to join?" asked Frank

"It's my job to stop Voldemort anyway but Dumbledore might know more" said Alice

"Knowing Dumbledore, he probably does" Frank agreed

"They say that Dumbledore's the only one he fears" said Alice quietly

"Honey, do you want to join?" Frank asked again

Alice looked up at Frank with a small smile.

"I do, if it helps to rid this world of evil then yes I do" she said

Frank kissed her nose and then rubbed his eyes.

"Then we'll owl to arrange a meeting with Dumbledore" said Frank

Alice smiled.

"Thanks for listening" she smiled

"Any time" said Frank

Alice settled back down and snuggled as close as she could to her fiancé. Frank always made her feel better when he listened to her worries. Frank squeezed her gently and then switched the lamp off and settled down beside Alice. Alice soon fell into a deep sleep and Frank soon followed.


	7. Chapter 7

Lily and James woke up the next morning at 7am. Lily groaned as she rubbed her eyes, she had only gotten about four maybe five hours of sleep during the night. She turned over to face James and smiled to see he was awake.

"Sleep okay?" asked James

"I've had better, I've had worse" said Lily shrugging

James rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling.

"What's wrong?" she asked stroking his cheek

"I don't want you to join" sighed James

Lily leaned on his chest and looked him in the eye.

"Why?" she questioned him

"Because it's dangerous, I don't want to lose you" said James tucking her hair behind her left ear.

"Are you joining?" Lily asked

"Yes" replied James

"I don't want to lose you either" stated Lily

"I can look after myself" said James

"So can I" Lily wailed

James kissed her forehead.

"I don't want you to get killed" said James

Lily rolled her eyes.

"You don't decide what I do Potter" Lily growled

James raised an eyebrow, she looked like her old self just then, when she always told him off for pranking people or when he annoyed her. He grinned a little.

"I love you, I just want you to be safe" James whispered

Lily smiled a little.

"I love you too but Voldemort's targeting muggles and muggleborns, if I just sit back and do nothing I'm not helping them, I'm a muggleborn James. I'll be targeted whether or not I join Dumbledore's order" Lily stated

James pulled her to him tightly and held her close, Lily closed her eyes as she settled on his chest and listened to his heart beating.

"I'll just have to accept your decision but promise me you'll keep yourself safe?" James begged

Lily looked deeply into his hazel eyes.

"I'd do that for you" she whispered and then moved upwards so that her lips could meet his.

* * *

Remus knocked on Mary's front door at 8am that morning. He had left a note for James saying that he was getting his stuff from Mary's then he'd officially move in. He just wondered how Mary was going to take the news. Mary opened the door and smiled awkwardly as she let Remus enter.

"Tea?" Mary offered

"Thanks" said Remus with a smile as he sat in the living room.

Mary poured them both a cup of tea and joined Remus in the living room. Remus started talking to Mary about Dumbledore's proposal. Mary listened and after Remus stopped talking she considered what he had been saying. She had a lot on her plate with work as it was already, she didn't want to put more strain on herself.

"Do you want to join?" asked Remus

Mary looked at Remus as she placed her empty mug on the coffee table in front of her.

"I've got enough on my shoulders. I don't want more pressure but I fully support you if you want to join" said Mary

Remus smiled and took her hand in his.

"There is something else I need to tell you" said Remus

"Oh?" asked Mary

"James has offered me a place to stay" said Remus

Mary withdrew her hand from his, Remus's smile faded. This wasn't the reaction he had been hoping for.

"You don't want to stay with me?" she asked slightly offended

"I can't help you pay the rent Mary, I can't get a job" said Remus

"So James has offered to support you?" asked Mary

"Yes, I don't like it but James said he wants to" he said

Mary stood up and paced the room. After a few minutes she turned back to him.

"I thought you'd be pleased, I wouldn't be risking your safety" he said

"Just because James, Sirius and Peter can turn into animals doesn't mean they aren't at risk" Mary stated

Remus put his head in his hands, feeling ashamed.

"I'm a lot calmer when they are in animal form" he explained

"It's a bit reckless" said Mary

Remus looked up. His affliction had only come between them once, that was when he first told her the truth about him. It took her some time but she had said she wanted to be with Remus. Now it seemed it was coming between them once again.

"Mary, you once said that you wanted to be with me despite my condition, I feel maybe you are having second thoughts?" asked Remus

Mary said nothing but turned away from him.

"I'll pack my things, if you need me I'll be at James's" Remus said quietly and then went upstairs to pack his things.

A small tear trickled down Mary's face. What had she done?

* * *

Peter was sat in the conservatory of his mother's house eating a full English breakfast that his mother had cooked him. His mother doted on him. He was, after all, her only child. His mother had made him breakfast as she did every morning before popping to town to get something that she needed. Peter often felt like his mother was compensating for the fact that his father left when he was a small child. His father had been too cowardly to raise him. He didn't talk about his father much, he didn't like being branded 'the son of a coward'. He was scared of turning out like him.

Peter was frightened about Dumbledore's offer. He didn't want to die, he certainly knew that dying was a very high possibility. He was still so young and he wanted to be able to go to the pub with his friends and not worry whether death eaters would be plotting to kill any of them. He was scared of the dark lord. He knew that he who must not be named was very powerful, and Peter feared too much power. That's why he liked James, Sirius and Remus, they were brave and being around them made him feel slightly braver, maybe because he knew that they'd always look out for him.

He didn't know what the right thing to do was. He knew that his friends wouldn't judge him if he didn't join the order but if he did and then later regretted his decision, it would be too late to back out once he made his decision.

Peter finished off his breakfast and placed the knife and fork neatly in the middle of the plate and took a swig of his orange juice. He couldn't even ask for his mother's advice because it was supposed to be kept a secret. He thought of all the things he and his best friends had done over the years, like training to be an animagus for one thing, the most riskiest thing he had ever done up until now. But he did it for his friend. A friend who needed him.

Peter thought once again about what Dumbledore had said the night before. It was all about stopping him. Peter then came to the conclusion that if killing the dark lord would save millions of lives maybe it was worth the risk? After all one life in return of millions? He decided to talk to the other marauders before making his final choice.


	8. Chapter 8

**If you'd like to know Marlene and Sirius's thoughts joining the order, I've created a oneshot story that runs alongside this one. Entitled I Love You. **

* * *

Remus opened the door to James's house and entered the hallway with his belongings. He didn't say anything to Mary when he had left her house, he figured it would be best to give her some space. Lily and James descended the stairs and smiled as they met Remus in the hallway. Lily went into the kitchen to put the kettle on whilst James helped Remus upstairs with his belongings. They went down the hall and entered one of the spare rooms. Remus set the stuff he was carrying down on the bed.

"Thanks" said Remus gratefully.

James smiled at his best friend.

"How did Mary take it?" James asked

Remus's face fell as he sighed.

"Not that well" Remus stated

James nodded and left the room, understanding that Remus needed to be alone at that moment in time. James went downstairs and met Lily in the kitchen, she handed him a cup of tea and smiled as she sat at the table.

"You've got a letter from Peter on the side" said Lily indicating towards the kitchen counter.

James picked the letter up and tore it open.

_James_

_would it be possible to meet to discuss this idea? just you, me, Sirius and Remus? I need your advice._

_Peter. _

Lily looked up as James pulled a piece of parchment out of the drawer and scribbled his reply to Peter. He took it over to where his owl was waiting, tied the note to it's leg and let the owl fly off.

"Lily I've been meaning to ask you something" James said taking a gulp of his tea.

Lily said nothing but looked at him curiously. James took a deep breath before asking her "Will you move in with me?"

Lily smiled and took James's hand in hers.

"I'd love to" she replied

James leaned across the table and gave her a quick peck.

"What did Peter want?" asked Lily

"To meet with me and the guys" said James finishing his tea.

"What time?" asked Lily as she finished her tea too.

"This evening" said James

Lily nodded and set her cup on the table in front of her.

"I'll ring my mum and dad and ask them to bring my stuff over" Lily smiled

James returned the smile and then headed upstairs to talk to Remus.

* * *

That evening James, Remus and Sirius met Peter at the Pettigrew house. Mrs Pettigrew let them in and they found Peter sitting in the conservatory finishing off his dinner. He clanged the knife and fork down on the plate and thanked his mother as she took the empty plate into the kitchen. James, Remus and Sirius sat around the table as Peter closed the door behind them and cast a silencing charm so his mother wouldn't overhear them.

"What's the matter Wormtail?" asked Sirius

"I'm not sure whether I should join" admitted Peter

"Why?" asked James

Peter paused, he just hoped his friends wouldn't judge him for admitting he was scared.

"Peter?" asked Remus in a tone of concern

Peter let out a sigh then looked at his friends.

"I'm scared" he mumbled

James looked at the other two and then back to Peter.

"Peter, it's okay to be scared" Remus tried to reassure him

"I don't want to be a coward" Peter admitted

"Peter, it's okay" Sirius smiled

"We'll look out for you" James promised

Peter looked up his friends and smiled wearily.

"You'd do that?" asked Peter

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"We're the marauders, we helped Moony now we'll help you" Sirius pointed out.

"Thank you guys, it means everything" said Peter

The group all smiled at each other, all confident now in their decision to join the order.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I want to start off by apologising, I know it's been a little longer than how I usually update. I do have a good excuse, my little boy's had tonsillitis and he's only just got over it. **

**But enjoy this chapter and please R/R**

* * *

Over the weeks that followed the group had been rather busy. James's parents had bought a house in America and moved there, they had given their London house to James. James had offered it as headquarters to Dumbledore for the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore held several meetings about what Voldemort was planning. Alice, Frank and Moody had been given their first mission. By using their roles as Aurors they had to raid the houses of suspected Death Eaters and gather as much information on those suspected so that the Order could create profiles. Once that had been completed, Lily, Marlene, Remus, James and Sirius were given their missions. Their missions, using James's invisibility cloak at separate times, to tail those suspected Death Eaters. Luckily they hadn't yet been caught.

Sirius was under a lot of pressure from working at the ministry and working as an agent for Dumbledore. Having spent nearly nine hours straight tailing Lucius Malfoy, he had gone to work the next morning with hardly any sleep. He fell asleep at his desk and got yelled at for nearly half an hour by his boss before Sirius commented how his boss never seemed to do much work. This caused his boss to go tomato red with rage and shout even more. Sirius retaliated by blowing up his desk. After an hour of the maintenance people trying to fix the office back to it's original state, Sirius quit his job and left. Being jobless and living with his best friend he seemed to be in a pretty low place. That was until he got a letter revealing that his uncle Alphard Black had left him some money. Sirius was in a cheerier mood and bought himself a flat not far from Marlene's parents house.

Peter mostly organised all the Order meetings. He preferred not being in the field, he liked taking the back seat. Although he knew that it wouldn't be long before Dumbledore sent him on his first mission.

Alice and Frank had decided on a December wedding. Due to the fact that they were constantly busy, they decided that they only wanted a small get together with their nearest and dearest as soon as possible. Alice had already bought the girls their bridesmaids dresses and her own wedding dress. Frank was in charge of organising the venue of the ceremony and reception, travel to and from the wedding ceremony to the reception and deciding on the menu. But his mother took over his duties. Alice, for once, was rather relieved that Augusta was being helpful and sticking her nose in. She and Frank were under a lot of stress with their double lives and planning a wedding.

But Frank and Alice weren't the only ones feeling the pressure. Marlene had a dispute with her boss about her work hours. She had asked her boss to reduce her working hours due to the stress she was feeling. Of course she couldn't state that she was working in Dumbledore's secret society so she had said that she felt that her boss was putting too much work on her shoulders. Her boss, as expected, instantly refused. Marlene took it further and made a formal complaint. After two weeks of sick leave it was decided she would only go into work two days during the week. It was handy having your father work at the ministry and who had a lot of influence over her department.

Lily was rather lucky as there had been a change in her schedule. One of the female healers had returned from maternity leave and because they could only work nights, Lily was put onto day shifts. So that left her free in the evenings to carry out any missions that she was given and she got to spend more time with James. Even though they had officially moved in together, she rarely saw her boyfriend.

Remus was still having difficulty with Mary. He had apologised to her about hurting her feelings and insisted that he did want to be with her. He even stayed over when she wasn't working. But he felt that Mary was distracted. She had said that she too wanted to make the relationship work but Remus felt that she spent too much time at the office.

It was a Saturday afternoon. James was sat in the living room listening to the news on the wireless. Remus was reading the paper and Sirius was sat on the floor making colourful rings emerge from the end of his wand. James was feeling that he was ready to take his relationship with Lily to the next step. The only thing was, he didn't know if Lily was ready.

Sirius looked at his best friend and chucked a cushion at his head. James came out of his train of thought and looked down at the cushion in confusion. Sirius chuckled as James set the cushion next to him.

"Prongs, what is it?" asked Sirius.

James sighed and stretched his arms out wide.

"Just thinking." he said with a shrug

Remus looked over the paper as Sirius turned off the wireless. Sirius looked to Remus and rolled his eyes.

"How can you live with him when all he thinks about is a certain redhead?" asked Sirius

Remus chuckled as he folded the paper. He chucked it on the table and then looked to James.

"James, what's troubling you?" asked Remus.

James looked at his best friends, he decided to ask their thoughts on what he should do.

"I'm ready to take the next step with Lily." admitted James.

Sirius burst into a fit of laughter. James glared at him.

"Y-You haven't h-had-

James picked up the cushion next to him and threw it hard into Sirius's face. Remus chuckled.

"Believe me, they have." stated Remus

James blushed slightly and looked away from Remus. Sirius stopped laughing.

"I was going to say, you two have been together for nearly a year." said Sirius

James sighed. Talking to Sirius about something huge was like trying to talk to a teenager what puberty was.

"I want to propose to Lily." James sighed.

Remus and Sirius looked at each other with wide eyes before they both stared at James.

"Seriously?" asked Sirius.

"Are you going to ask her?" asked Remus.

James laid back on the sofa lazily and put his feet up on the armrest at the opposite end. He took off his glasses and started to clean them with his shirt.

"Yeah I love her." James replied.

Remus smiled brightly.

"I think it's a good idea." said Remus honestly.

James smiled. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Well it's up to you mate, but if it were me I'd say no." Sirius teased.

James turned his head sharply and made his best friend out to be a blurry figure.

"Why?" James demanded.

Sirius grinned.

"Well have you smelt your socks?" asked Sirius.

James placed his glasses back on his nose and shot a leglocker curse at his best friend. Sirius's legs went rigid. That wiped the smile off of his face.

"Prongs don't be mean." Sirius whined.

Remus rolled his eyes before saying, "Will you two ever be mature?".

After a few minutes of chuckling, James undid the curse he had placed on his best friend. Sirius sat there sulkily as he rubbed his legs.

"I'd definitely say no if I were Evans after what you just did." Sirius said grumpily.

James picked up the paper from the table and started reading through.

"That's fine Sirius, if I do propose and she says yes, I'll just ask Remus to be my best man." teased James.

Sirius looked round at him.

"You'd ask me to be your best man?" asked Sirius.

James rolled his eyes at his best friend's stupidity.

"Who else would make fun of me?. No offence Moony but you wouldn't make a funny speech." James chuckled.

Remus smiled.

"I think you'd make a perfect choice in best man if you proposed to Lily." Remus replied.

Sirius seemed a lot cheerier after that thought.


	10. Chapter 10

It was the end of November, snow had already begun to fall. James's front garden only had maybe two inches covering it. It was now that Lily missed Hogwarts more than ever. She used to love wrapping up in a warm cloak with her house scarf on and going for a stroll in the grounds. She used to love having snowball fights with the girls. She smiled to herself as she watched the snow fall outside as she remembered her almost kiss with James under the mistletoe the Christmas before. The moment would've been perfect except for the fact that Sirius and Peter had thrown snowballs at them.

She turned away from the window to see James's owl drop a letter on the coffee table before flying away. She picked it up from the table and smiled to herself when she saw James's handwriting on the envelope addressed to her. She tore the letter open.

_Lily, _

_Seeing as we are both free today, I thought we could go for a drink this evening. Meet me outside Honeydukes at 7pm. See you tonight. _

_Love _

_James x _

Lily put the letter down on the table, still smiling. She couldn't help but wonder what James was planning. But whatever it was she wanted to wear something special, it had been so long since she and James had had a date night. Lily went upstairs to the bedroom and started to root through her wardrobe to see what she could wear. After several minutes of chucking every dress onto the bed, she came to the conclusion that everything she owned would be no good. She sat down on the bed in frustration and put her head in her hands when she heard a cough at the door. She looked up to see Marlene and Alice stood in the doorway.

"Having a clear out?" asked Alice.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"If you are I'm so having that black dress," said Marlene picking up one of the many dresses lying on the bed.

Lily stood up and sighed.

"What's up Lil?" asked Alice.

"James and I have a date tonight and I have nothing to wear," Lily complained.

Alice smiled and hugged her sympathetically.

"So what are waiting for?" asked Marlene.

Lily and Alice looked at Marlene in confusion. Marlene sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Shopping trip to Diagon Alley," Marlene pointed out.

Lily and Alice grinned and then the three girls rushed downstairs to get Lily's stuff before apparating outside of The Leaky Cauldron. Once the three girls reached Diagon Alley they went to Madam Malkin's to get some dress robes for Lily.

Lily stood on a stall as Madam Malkin took measurements with her tape measure. Alice and Marlene stood giving Lily advice on what colour she should get.

"Maybe light green to match your eye colour?" suggested Marlene.

"Definitely not red or pink," said Alice with a grin.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"How about blue?" asked Alice.

Lily considered for a moment before deciding blue would be the best bet, it had been a while since she had bought anything blue to wear.

"What shade of blue dear?" asked Madam Malkin.

"Royal blue suits you best," said Marlene.

"Good for your skin tone," agreed Alice.

"Royal blue it is," grinned Lily.

Madam Malkin went out the back to get the material.

"So where's Mary?" asked Lily.

Alice and Marlene looked at each other. Lily sensed that they were suspecting something was going on with their friend.

"She had a lunch with her boss," said Alice.

"A work lunch?" asked Lily.

The other two said nothing but their facial expressions suggested that Mary was spending too much time with her boss outside of work hours.

"It was supposed to be her day off today," said Marlene.

"I'm worried about her and Remus," said Alice.

"Me too, they haven't really spoken much since Remus moved in," said Lily.

"Maybe you should lock them both in a broom closet again?" Marlene grinned.

Lily chuckled but she doubted that locking her two friends in a broom closet for a second time would make them work out their differences.

"Have either of you two met her boss?" asked Lily as Madam Malkin came back through with the material for Lily's dress robes.

"Once when I was meeting her for an after work drink," said Alice.

"When was this?" asked Marlene.

"About three weeks ago," replied Alice.

Madam Malkin started making the dress robes with Lily still stood on the stool. The girls continued to talk about whether they should talk to Mary about their concerns. Lily felt that they should, after all if Mary carried on spending too much time with her boss, she and Remus would both get hurt. Lily didn't want her two friends to end up in that way. She could tell that Remus wanted the two of them to work things out. She hadn't seen Mary for weeks as Mary had been busy with work all the time.

"Maybe we should owl her?" suggested Alice.

"Ask her to meet us now for a drink," said Lily.

"And talk to her now? What if she gets pissed off because she feels we're interfering?" asked Marlene.

"I don't want to interfere but Mary's one of my bridesmaids and Remus is one of the grooms men at my wedding so I need the two of them to be on speaking terms," stated Alice.

"And Remus is always moping because he hasn't spent much time with her," Lily pointed out as Madam Malkin finished her work.

Marlene shrugged as Lily stepped off of the stool and paid for her dress robes. The girls said goodbye to Madam Malkin and decided they did need to talk to Mary. They sent her a note asking her to meet them at The Leaky Cauldron.

The girls all bought their drinks and went to sit at a table. They talked more about Alice's wedding which was only three weeks away now. Lily smiled as she watch Alice bounce around like a kid at Christmas. It made Lily glad at how happy her best friend was to be getting married to the man she loved. She wondered if she would feel that happy if James ever proposed to her.

They were joined five minutes later by Mary. The girls hugged their friend and then Mary went up to the bar to get herself a butterbeer.

"How do we start off?" whispered Marlene.

"We have to be delicate," said Lily.

Alice nodded in agreement with Lily as she took a gulp from her butterbeer. Mary returned to the table and sat in the empty seat next to Marlene.

"So what's going on with everyone? I'm sorry I haven't had time for you girls, it's been so hectic at work," explained Mary as she took a sip of her drink.

The other three looked at each other before returning their gazes to Mary.

"Well Sirius got his own place," Marlene started off.

"That's great, you guys moving in together?" asked Mary.

"No, we aren't ready for that step yet," replied Marlene.

"Wedding planning has finished," said Alice,

"And I'm now on day shifts not a mixture," Lily chipped in.

Mary nodded at the three of them as she took another sip of her butterbeer.

"So how's things with you?" asked Alice.

"Okay I guess, just went to lunch with Mark," said Mary.

"Your boss?" asked Lily.

"Yes, I might be getting promoted at Easter," said Mary happily.

Lily looked at the other two, the atmosphere becoming slightly awkward. Mary wasn't oblivious to this.

"Okay you guys, what's going on?" snapped Mary.

Lily exhaled heavily before placing her hand on Mary's.

"Mary, you know we support you in whatever you decide right?" asked Lily.

"Of course," said Mary curiously.

"We're just worried that you are spending too much time with Mark outside office hours and not enough time with Remus," said Alice sympathetically.

Mary rolled her eyes in disbelief.

"Mark is just being a supportive friend. Remus is always busy too you know," Mary pointed out.

"We don't know if Mark's intention's go beyond being a 'supportive friend'," admitted Marlene.

Mary drained the rest of her drink before slamming the bottle on the table.

"I can't believe you guys, do you know how hard it is for me? Working a full time job plus overtime and having a boyfriend who's a werewolf," Mary muttered to the girls in a harsh tone.

Lily looked at Mary questionably.

"Please don't tell me you told your boss about Remus?" begged Lily.

Mary looked at Lily with a look of guilt on her face. Lily shook her head and scoffed in disbelief.

"You didn't?" Alice tutted.

Mary looked down at her feet.

"It slipped out," she mumbled

"Mary, he told you that in confidence," Marlene scolded.

"Mark's a good listener, he hasn't told anyone." Mary defended.

"Mary, you need to sort things out with Remus." stated Lily.

Mary sighed.

"I know it's just I don't know if we can" Mary admitted.

Lily patted Mary's hand feeling sorry that Mary had gotten to this point with her relationship.

"You two are already drifting apart Mary, if you still want to make it work then talk to Remus." Lily pleaded.

Mary blinked back tears, rose from the table and walked out of the pub. Alice let out a heavy sigh whilst Marlene rubbed her eyes.

"I hope she does the right thing," Lily mused.

Alice smiled weakly.

"I'm sure she will, I just don't want either of them to get hurt," Alice said.

"She was stupid to tell her boss about Remus," stated Marlene harshly.

Lily sighed as she finished off her butterbeer.

"Right let's get you home to try on these dress robes," smiled Alice.

Lily grinned, she was really looking forward to her date with James later that night.

* * *

**A/N: Enjoy this chapter. The next chapter I'm hoping to get done over the weekend and it will involve Lily and James's date. The chapter after will focus on Mary and Remus. Please Review, all feedback welcome :) **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Please R/R If I get quite a few reviews then I'll update the next chapter by Tuesday :). **

Lily stood outside of Honeydukes wearing the royal blue dress robes she had bought earlier that day. The shops had all closed for the night and most people had headed for a drink in The Three Broomsticks. She had been looking forward to tonight so much, even more so since she, Alice and Marlene had had that conversation with Mary.

She looked down at her watch. 7.01pm. She scanned around the high street for any sign of James. It had stopped snowing a few hours ago but because they were so far north, the weather conditions made her feel like she was in the North Pole.

Then she saw him walking towards her. James was dressed in his smartest pair of dress robes and his hair gelled back. Lily guessed it had taken quite a lot of hair gel to make sure his hair wasn't untidy for tonight. She could tell that he had gone to a lot of effort in his appearance.

He reached her and briefly kissed her cheek before taking her hand. They strolled towards The Three Broomsticks hand in hand.

"How was your day?" asked Lily with a smile.

James returned her smile before saying, "Rather busy, yours?"

Lily sighed. James glanced at her with a look of concern.

"I went out with the girls this afternoon, Mary met up with us," Lily explained as they reached the door to the pub.

James held the door open for her and Lily gave him a small smile before entering the rather crowded pub. Even in the evening, the pub still got quite a lot of trade. Mostly people wanting an after work drink or to gamble. Rosmerta's pub certainly seemed to be the most popular choice in Hogsmeade. Lily sat down in one of the many booths in the pub while James went up to the bar.

James stood at the bar waiting for Rosmerta to finish serving the customer she was already with. She glanced around and gave him a smile that she usually gave to indicate she'd be with him right after. James returned the smile and waited patiently. After Rosmerta's customer sat down she came over to him.

"Sharply dressed James Potter," she gushed with her hands on her hips.

James smiled.

"Special night with the girlfriend," James explained.

Rosmerta looked round and waved over to Lily.

"Been nearly a year for you two hasn't it?" asked Rosmerta.

"In January," James replied.

"What can I get you?" asked Rosmerta.

"Bottle of wine please," James asked politely.

Rosmerta's eyes widened, he had never ordered wine before in all the years he had been coming to her pub.

"That special eh?" she quizzed as she bent down to the little refrigerator underneath the bar and pulled out two bottles.

"I'm propsing," James smiled.

Rosmerta choked on her breath.

"Did I hear correctly?" Rosmerta coughed.

"Indeed you did," James said with a grin.

"Well I hope she says yes, do you want red or white?" asked Rosmerta indicating to the two bottles she held.

"White please," James smiled.

Rosmerta poured some ice into a bucket and put the bottle of white wine into the bucket. She then got out two wine glasses and handed them over to him. James handed her some galleons and then returned to where Lily was sitting.

Lily smiled as he shifted closer her, he poured them both a glass of wine and then silently toasted her. Lily kissed his cheek before taking a sip of her wine.

"White wine eh?" Lily teased.

James grinned.

"Can't I spoil my girlfriend?" He asked innocently.

Lily leaned in to his ear.

"By all means, keep supplying the wine," she breathed.

James wrapped an arm around her waist and squeezed her lightly.

"So what happened with Mary?" asked James taking a sip from his glass.

Lily exhaled sharply and took a mouthful, the encounter with Mary had stressed her out a bit. Never had she argued like that with Mary. She had met her fellow muggleborn friend on the train journey to Hogwarts in their first year. She felt rather connected with Mary as they shared the same heritage of muggle relatives. Sure she had great friendships in Marlene and Alice but they were both pureblood and as much as she loved all of her best friends equally, she didn't get odd looks if she talked about muggle related topics with Mary.

"She's spending a lot of time with her boss, so me and the girls kind of gave her our thoughts on the subject," Lily said quietly.

James patted her on the shoulder sympathetically.

"I take it she got a little mad?" asked James.

Lily nodded as she drained her glass. She poured herself another and topped James's drink up before setting it back down in the bucket.

"She told her boss about Remus, she insists they're just good friends but she's drifting away from Remus," Lily sighed.

James looked livid. It was Remus's wish that not that many people knew about his secret.

"Please tell me that the prophet won't be printing that he's a werewolf?" James pleaded.

Lily blinked.

"She said that her boss hadn't told anyone," Lily mumbled.

James seemed to relax a little bit but was slightly edgy about it, he decided to talk to Remus in the morning about it.

They sat and talked more about how their days had been, what Lily had been up to at the hospital and the upcoming Longbottom wedding. Lily was feeling slightly tipsy as James poured the remaining contents of the bottle equally into their wine glasses.

"Are you trying to get me drunk Potter?" Lily hiccuped.

"No, I don't particularly fancy getting you drunk before we eat," James explained.

Lily frowned at him, he hadn't mentioned dinner plans. But then again he was dressed smartly, she'd only seen him dressed this smart once before and that was for her sister's wedding.

"Yeah, Dumbledore's set up a table for us at the castle," said James.

Lily smiled affectionately at her boyfriend as she stroked his cheek.

"You're too good to me James Potter," she smiled.

James took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles.

"I love you so why shouldn't I show you how much?" asked James.

Lily said nothing but leaned in to kiss him. James cupped her face as his lips met hers. It started off quite sweetly as Lily slowly parted her lips and allowed his tongue to caress her own. He could taste the wine on her tongue as she kissed him slowly but suddenly put a bit more eagerness into the kiss. She placed her hands on his shoulders and shifted closer to him. James placed his right arm around her to hold her tighter. They continued like this for a few minutes before James pulled away and tried to catch his breath. Lily smirked at him, she liked how she still had this effect on him after ten months of being his girlfriend.

James finally managed to steady his breathing before taking her hand and rising from the table they had been sat at. He pulled Lily to her feet and together, they made their way to the door and left the pub. The snow was falling lightly around them. Lily shivered but felt warmer when James wrapped his cloak around her shoulders. Smiling gratefully, she pulled it as tight as she could around her body and let James lead them to the castle.

They were greeted by a house elf in the entrance hall and were requested to follow the elf to where they would be served their meal. They walked behind the elf who led them through the dimly lit corridors that reminded Lily of her Head Girl days. It brought back many happy memories for her.

They reached an empty classroom on the fourth floor. The elf opened the door and led them inside. The usual chairs and tables and the blackboard were nowhere to be seen. In the middle of the candle lit room was a small round table with two seats. Lily petals were scattered around the floor. James walked over to one of the chairs and pulled it out. He then gestured for her to sit in it.

Lily couldn't find any words to say. This was one of the nicest things he had ever done for her. She felt butterflies in her stomach and she swore to herself that it was like she was falling in love with him a million times over. With a huge smile and watery eyes, she strolled over to table and sat down in the chair that James was holding out for her. He pushed the chair in lightly before sitting in the empty one opposite her.

The elves poured them wine and gave them their food. James had learned at Petunia's wedding that Lily rather liked salmon but she thought it should only be served on special occasions. So James had decided on soup for a starter, smoked salmon as the main course and the strawberry cheesecakes for dessert.

They ate in silence. The kind of silence which made Lily appreciate her boyfriend and realise how much she truly loved him. He really had shown her that there was more to him than the arrogant toe-rag who pestered her for six years straight in their school days.

She ate her cheesecake and looked around the candlelit room and then she gasped. James looked her her in surprise and concern.

"Lily, what's wrong?" he asked slightly panicky.

Lily took his hand and smiled reassuringly. James's expression relaxed a little.

"This is the classroom where we had our first kiss," Lily smiled.

James chuckled to himself, if only she knew why he had brought her here, to this classroom.

"Well tonight is special," James mused.

Lily narrowed her eyes in suspicion, wondering what her boyfriend was up to. James cleared his throat before taking a large gulp of wine from his glass. He got off his chair and knelt down on one knee before Lily. Her eyes widened in surprise as she realised what James was doing. But shock kept her frozen in her seat. Speechless at what the handsome man before her was about to say.

"Lily Evans, you are the beautiful girl I've ever met. I've always thought so. But as the years went by I got to learn that you are also very intelligent, very mischievous and very loving to everyone you love. I fell in love with you a very long time ago. You literally don't understand how happy you make me. I love waking up next to you and falling asleep next to you everyday and I never want that to stop," James said quietly, his words only for her.

Lily didn't interrupt him, she knew he wasn't finished. James pulled out a small velvet box from the pocket of his robes and slowly opened it to reveal a glittering diamond ring on a white gold band.

Lily felt like she was going to stop breathing she was that speechless. She looked at the ring and knew it was perfect. James knew she didn't like a fuss when it came to jewellery. He knew that she didn't need a big diamond, something small and simple would mean so much more to her.

Lily breathed in deeply as James took her hand. Before she could exhale, James had already said those magical words to her.

"Lily Evans, will you be my wife?" He whispered.

A tear leaked from Lily's eyes, she had never been so happy.

"Yes," she breathed "Yes James Potter I will!".

James smiled as he slid the ring onto her third finger on her left hand before smiling like a Cheshire Cat and kissing her passionately.


	12. Chapter 12

Mary was pacing her living room anxiously. She was waiting for Remus to arrive so that they could have that long awaited talk. She loved Remus, she loved him so much that she'd do anything for him. But she felt that their relationship was no longer working. She was always at the office and he was always doing missions for Dumbledore, even though he wasn't allowed to confide in her because she wasn't a member, she knew what he was up to.

She didn't know what to do. She had never felt this confused before. She wanted to desperately try and make her relationship work but there was so much that was fighting against them. Her boss had confirmed that she would be getting promoted, but that was going to happen a lot sooner than Easter. In the new year she would be promoted and sent around the world to find the best things in the magical world. She hadn't yet told Remus, even if they did stay together, would their relationship survive when she was promoted?

There was also the subject of Mark. She had been growing closer to him due to the amount of time they spent together. Not just at the office. They went out for lunch on their days off and for after work drinks if they had managed to meet their deadlines by five o'clock. She hadn't done anything like that with Remus in a very long time. Mark had become such a good friend to her, but she thought that there may be something else there.

She heard a light knock on her front door and sighing with relief, she opened it and led Remus inside. He took off his coat and hung it up on the coat rack in the hall before following her into the kitchen. Mary tapped her wand on the kettle and it started to boil. Remus went into the fridge, got out the milk and handed it to her. She said nothing but smiled her thanks and made them both a cup of tea.

Both holding their beverages, they went to sit into the living room. Remus sat on the cream leather sofa and Mary hesitantly sat next to him. Both wanting to say something to the other but not sure of what they wanted to say. It had never been this awkward for them. They had always found talking the easy part of their relationship.

After a few minutes, Mary sighed and turned to the scarred man next to her. Remus copied her actions and gave her a small smile. It was always how he gave her a genuine smile that made her heart skip a beat. He was the nicest guy she had ever been with and she didn't want to hurt him. Mary's eyes shifted to the floor as she took his hand and gave it a light squeeze before looking back up at him, finally having the courage to talk to him.

"Remus, things between us have been rather difficult lately," she sighed.

"Mary, I've apologised over and over again for being insensitive towards you about moving in with James," Remus stated.

"There is that but it's also the fact that we rarely see each other." said Mary sadly.

Remus affectionately tucked her hair behind her left ear before she draped it over the opposite shoulder.

"We both have busy lives now, we're no longer those teenagers who fell in love at Hogwarts." He pointed out.

Mary nodded in agreement as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Remus, I'm getting promoted in the new year." Mary told him.

Remus's eyes lit her, it was clearly evident that he was proud of her.

"That's great, well done!" Remus exclaimed kissing her on the cheek.

A small tear leaked from her eyes.

"Thank you, but there's more to it." she said quietly.

Remus looked at her with a concerned expression on his face.

"What is it?" he asked.

Mary sighed and drained her tea in two mouthfuls. She placed the mug on the coffee table before turning back to him.

"It basically the same job that I do now but I'll be travelling around the world," she replied.

Remus said nothing but considered what she had told him. He was happy for her but didn't understand why she seemed so upset.

"Why are you upset?" asked Remus, feeling confused.

She looked him deep in the eyes, her tears freely flowing down her face.

"Because I don't think our relationship will survive." she cried.

Remus's face fell, his heart dropping in sadness. So this was the end for them. A whole year ending like this.

"Remus, I love you but let's be honest, do you see us with a future if we carry on like this?" asked Mary drying her eyes.

Remus took his hand out of her hold. He was starting to feel angry that she wasn't even prepared to try and work things out with him.

"If you truly wanted to make it work, we could." He growled.

Mary was slightly surprised at his tone, he had never really been angry with her before. Sure they had had disagreements which resulted in one of them going for a walk or meeting their friends to cool off. But they always came back to each other to sort things out, he had never been angry.

"You're always busy with Dumbledore and I'm always at work. When I see you these days it's already awkward. Imagine me going away for months at a time and then returning home to you and it being even more awkward that we don't even know how to have a conversation any more!" she exclaimed.

"They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder," Remus yelled.

"They also say out of sight, out of mind." Mary shouted back.

They both stared at each other, both had risen from where they had been sitting minutes previously. Both had balled their hands into clenched fists. Both wore expressions of anger on their face. It took several minutes before they both had calmed themselves down. Remus turned to look back at Mary.

"Is there someone else?" asked Remus, not really wanting her to answer the question. But if there was someone else, he needed to know so that he could move on.

Mary looked at him, taken aback by his unexpected question. She didn't know what to tell him. Sure she had been spending a bit more time with Mark then what usually have been accepted if he were just her boss. But he had become her friend, her confidante. She did feel slightly more connected to Mark right now then she did to Remus.

"I'm confused." she admitted.

Remus felt crushed. He couldn't bring himself to tell her how much her admission was hurting him. He said nothing to her but nodded as he sat back down on her sofa, placing his head in his hands. Mary had never felt this guilty in her whole life. She had never hurt anyone before, she didn't mean to intentionally hurt Remus. But she needed to be honest with him. She no longer felt that their relationship could survive.

"I don't want to carry on this relationship feeling like this. It's not fair to you. You deserve to be with someone who is sure of what she wants." Mary choked trying to hold in her tears.

Remus looked up at her, tears were starting to well up in his eyes too.

"I love you," he whispered.

Mary smiled guiltily and wiped away a tear that had escaped his eye.

"I love you too but it's time to take our own paths now. They were once joined but now we have to go our separate ways," she explained.

Remus nodded and she knew that he understood her decision and the reasons behind it. He kissed her cheek lightly before rising from the sofa and seeing himself out. Once the door slammed shut behind him, Mary collapsed onto the sofa and let herself cry into the cushions. Letting go of the boy who treated her so well, respected her and trusted her more than anyone.


	13. Chapter 13

The sun shone weakly through the gap in the curtains to James and Lily's bedroom. Lily woke up as the winter sun hit her face and sighed happily as she felt James placing a row of kisses on the back of her neck.

"Morning," Lily yawned.

James smiled as she turned onto her other side so she could face him. They had been officially engaged for over twelve hours now and he still thought it had been a dream when she had accepted his proposal. Lily smiled as he ran his fingers through her loose hair, this was the happiest she had ever felt in her relationship with James.

"Morning beautiful." James replied with the smile still on his face.

"I didn't dream about last night did I?" Lily asked blinking.

James chuckled and lifted her left hand to eye level. Last night had indeed happened but she couldn't help but feel that it had been a dream. She looked down at the glistening ring on her finger. James placed a finger under her chin and gently lifted her head so that she could meet his gaze.

"So when do you want to get married?" asked James.

"I don't know, we just got engaged." Lily replied.

James chuckled.

"I'd like you to be Mrs Potter sooner rather than later." said James.

Lily rolled her eyes, her fiancée did always want things to happen as quickly as possible. James sat up and stretched and rose from the bed. He pulled on his dressing gown as Lily propped herself up on one elbow.

"Where are you going?" Lily pouted

James leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"To make you breakfast and then get all of those losers we call our friends over." James laughed.

James left the room and Lily slumped back down against her pillows and sighed happily. How she could have ever hated James Potter, she didn't know anymore.

* * *

James went into the kitchen and tapped his wand against the kettle. As the kettle started to boil he went into the fridge and pulled out the butter. Using his wand he levitated two pieces of bread into the toaster and then pushed the bread down so that it would toast. It was as he was making himself and Lily a cup of tea when a tired looking Remus entered the kitchen. Remus sat at the empty kitchen table and pulled open the day's copy of the Daily Prophet. James turned to his best friend after he put the teabags into the bin, noticing straight away that something was wrong.

"Moony, what's wrong?" asked James sitting opposite his friend.

Remus smiled weakly, "Mary broke up with me last night," He sighed.

James froze, he hadn't been expecting Remus and Mary to have broken up. He didn't know what to say to his friend. Remus was hurting and telling his best friend that he and Lily had just gotten engaged wouldn't make him feel any better about love and relationships. James rose from the table and made Remus a cup of tea. Remus smiled gratefully as he took the mug from James and took a sip.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked James.

"Can we have a lads night tonight? You, me, Peter, Sirius and Frank?" asked Remus.

James nodded and then left the room to take Lily her tea and toast. The bedroom door had been open ajar so James kicked it a little wider with his foot so he could enter the room. Lily's eyes lit up when he sat on the edge of the bed and she thanked him as she took the plate of toast and set the tea on her bedside table. James loved the looks she gave him whenever he entered a room, just by her look it gave him such a wonderful feeling of knowing that she loved him.

"Lily, don't mention to Remus that we're engaged." James said quietly.

"Why?" Lily questioned as she nibbled on her toast.

"He and Mary broke up last night." James explained.

Lily exhaled heavily but said nothing as she finished her breakfast. She didn't want her friends to split up because she thought they were so good together. But she couldn't deny the fact that she thought that they had been drifting apart for a while now. Lily placed her plate on the beside table and took a gulp of her tea.

"To be honest, it's not come as a surprise to me." Lily sighed.

"I guess we can't lock them in a broom cupboard again." said James with a laugh.

Lily smiled but shook her head. This time wasn't about Mary accepting that Remus was a werewolf. They were all adults now and Lily had to accept her friend's decision to break up.

"I think maybe we should leave it a while before we get everyone round to celebrate." James suggested.

"Yeah, I think it would make both of them feel worse." Lily agreed.

"Do you mind if I go out with the guys tonight? Remus wants a lads night out." asked James.

"Sure I think it will be good for you all, I think I'll invite the girls over." said Lily brightly.

James smiled as he rose from the bed at starting opening his drawers and pulled out a pair of jeans. As James got dressed, Lily finished off her tea and then placed the empty mug on her bedside table. She rose from the bed and pulled out a dress from the wardrobe. After they had both dressed they went downstairs to find that Remus was still reading the newspaper.

"Hi Remus." said Lily sympathetically.

"Hi Lily." Remus replied politely without looking up from the paper.

"James told me what happened." said Lily cautiously, not wanting to upset Remus further.

Remus folded the paper and smiled weakly as she sat next to him.

"I'll be fine Lily, Mary feels that we're drifting apart. I've tried my best to make her happy but she says she's confused. So I believe that maybe it was for the best." Remus assured.

Lily smiled but didn't say anything else on the subject, she decided to owl the girls from the living room, deciding to give Remus some peace and quiet. She sat at the dining room table and flicked her wand so that some parchment, a quill and an ink bottle sat in front of her. Lily rolled the parchment open and dipped the quill into the ink and then started to write on the parchment.

_Girls_

_James and the boys are going out tonight, girl's night in at my house? _

_Love_

_Lily._

She copied the letter and then addressed them to Marlene, Alice and Mary and then tied them to the owl's leg. She carried the owl over to the window and watched it fly off into the weak November sun.

* * *

James had already flooed the other guys and all of them seemed rather keen for a lads night out. It had been a while since all of them had done so. He went into the kitchen and patted Remus on the shoulder. Remus looked up at James.

"The others are up for going out tonight." James said.

"I was thinking maybe going to Rosmerta's?" asked Remus.

"I think she might be holding a karaoke night, so it should be a good." agreed James remembering reading it on the noticeboard when he and Lily left the night before.

"Good, I'm planning on getting very drunk tonight," said Remus rising from the table.

Remus left the kitchen as James sat down at the table and picked up the discarded paper that Remus had been reading. His owl flew back through the open window and dropped two letters addressed to Lily on the table.

"Lily." James called.

He heard her walking through from the dining room and picked her letters up. James noticed that she wasn't wearing her engagement ring. Lily's eyes scanned through the letters and as she placed them back on the table, she saw that James was looking at her left hand.

"It's in it's box, I thought it would be best not to wear it until we tell everyone." Lily explained.

James nodded in agreement but felt that Lily looked different without it on her finger. When he had put it on her, it felt like she had never been without it.

For the rest of the afternoon, Lily and James watched some of her muggle films in the living room whilst Remus took a nap in his bedroom. Remus had retreated to his bedroom for a nap before he and the boys went out later that night. He didn't want his misery to put James and Lily in a bad mood.

Lily looked up at James and gave a smile giggle to see that he had fallen asleep during the film that they had been watching. His glasses were slowly falling off of his nose. She gently put her hands on the edge of the glasses to push them back up, but James woke up with a snort at the sudden contact that he hadn't been expecting.

"I wasn't asleep." He yawned quickly.

Lily giggled as she rested her head on his chest and looked up at him. James smiled at her as he stroked her cheek lazily. Both not noticing that the film had finished. They both loved moments like this. But usually their moments of privacy were interrupted by one of their friends. Lily had to be grateful to Remus though, since he had moved in whenever he sensed that Lily and James wanted some alone time, he retreated to his bedroom to give them some long awaited privacy.

Right on cue there was a cough at the door. Lily and James turned their heads in the direction of the door to see Sirius and Marlene stood in the doorway. Marlene's hair was slightly ruffled and her shirt buttons done up wrongly. Lily rolled her eyes, it was clearly evident that her friends had had a 'quickie' before coming to their house.

"I have to say you two look more loved up than ever." Sirius teased as he let go of Marlene and sat on the unoccupied sofa.

"Considering Remus and Mary broke up, some of us should be." Marlene stated as she sat on her boyfriends lap.

"I see you two are still enjoying the benefits of the bedroom." said Lily with her eyes raised.

Marlene blushed slightly as Sirius chuckled.

"How would you know?" asked Sirius.

"Marlene's shirt if done up wrong and Marls you might want to make sure your hair isn't ruffled after you finish pleasuring my best friend." James smirked.

Marlene flushed tomato red and shot up and ran out of the room.

"Where's she going?" asked Sirius.

"To borrow my hairbrush." Lily laughed as she sat up.

James pouted, evidently disappointed that she had stopped laying next to him. Sirius saw James's reaction and rolled his eyes.

"What time are we heading out?" asked Sirius.

James looked up at the clock above the fire and saw that it was nearly six in the evening. He then looked back to his best friend.

"In about an hour, I'll go wake Remus." said James as he rose from the sofa and left the room.

Sirius zoned out as Marlene and Lily started talking about whatever it was that girls talked about. He was looking forward to going out with the boys tonight. James was right, it had been a while since all of them had gotten together, although Frank's stag do would be next week as the Longbottom-Prewett wedding would be coming up very soon. He pondered about how everything had changed for him in the past few years. He had moved out of his parents house after he refused to follow the pureblood tradition, his family always thought of him as different since he was sorted into Gryffindor. He usually had flings with girls rather than a serious relationship which is what he had with Marlene. And now he was living in his own flat. He had never felt so much like an adult.

Half an hour later Remus and James entered the room as Frank and Peter had shown up. James and Sirius kissed their girlfriends goodbye and headed out of the door. A few minutes after the boys departure Alice and a puffy eyed Mary arrived with several bottles of wine.

* * *

The boys arrived at The Three Broomsticks at as they had expected, it was packed with people. Some drunk women were singing on the karaoke machine already and some of the tables had been cleared away so that they would be some room for people to dance. Remus and Sirius went up to the crowded bar as Frank, Peter and James found a table near where the karaoke was going on. Remus and Sirius returned with five firewhiskeys. The guys chatted, trying to take Remus's mind off of Mary and the night before. But they found their efforts wasted as all Remus wanted to talk about was Mary.

Several drinks later, Sirius got up and decided to have a go on the karaoke machine. The four went onto the dance floor to cheer Sirius on when a girl started chatting to Peter. James and Frank got chatting to two more girls but had to make it clear that they were both taken. The two girls ended up walking away rather disappointed. James couldn't deny that the girl who had started chatting him up was pretty, but she wasn't Lily. In no way could that girl compare to the beautiful fiancée who was waiting for him at home.

Remus went back up to the bar to order a beer. He did feel slightly better with a bit of alcohol in his system and talking to his friends about what had happened between him and his now ex-girlfriend. But he realised that it would take a while before the pain started to heal. He still loved Mary and wanted to get back together with her but she was right. Things between them had grown awkward. As he waited for Rosmerta to notice that he was waiting to be served a girl tapped him on the shoulder.

"Remus Lupin? I thought that was you!" a soft voice said loudly.

Remus turned around. The girl was none other than Hestia Jones, she had been a classmate the year before but she was in Ravenclaw so they didn't really talk that much. She occasionally came over to him and the others to say how much she admired their courage when they pulled their pranks or to say how funny she found the boys. She looked very different now. Her long black hair had been cut shorter and the full fringe that she had had the year before was pinned back, she was obviously trying to grow it out. She had lost weight too, her figure was more slimmer and the purple dress she wore showed off her curves.

Hestia pulled Remus into a hug which he gladly returned. He didn't want to be rude.

"So who are you here with?" asked Remus as she stood next to him at the bar.

"Amelia, she's going through yet another bad breakup." Hestia replied.

"I know her pain." Remus sighed.

Hestia looked at him confused.

"Aren't you dating Mary McDonald?" asked Hestia.

"Was, she broke up with me last night," Remus explained as Rosmerta passed him a bottle of beer.

"Oh, I'm sorry Remus." said Hestia patting his arm.

Remus smiled weakly as he handed over some sickles to Rosmerta and Hestia ordered her drink. Once Hestia had paid for hers, she took Remus's hand and led him onto the dance floor where Amelia was chatting to James and Frank. Peter was snogging a blonde haired girl back at their table. Hestia and Remus joined in the conversation before they were all joined by Sirius. Sirius looked back over to their table and smirked when he saw Peter run his hand up the blonde's thigh, evidently surprised that the blonde didn't slap Peter's hand away.

"How he pulled someone that hot, I don't know." Sirius said baflled.

"A lot of alcohol." grinned Frank.

The crowds in the pub had started to quieten down now. It was getting close to closing time as James checked his watch and it was nearly eleven.

"I should go, Lily's waiting for me." said James.

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"She's got you trained hasn't she?" Sirius teased.

James punched his best friend on the arm before saying his goodbyes to the group and then left the pub. A few minutes after James left, Frank said his goodbyes as he had work early the next day. Peter was being dragged out of the pub by the blonde so all he could do was grin at Sirius and Remus. Sirius rolled his eyes and then turned to Remus.

"You want to head to a muggle club?" asked Sirius.

Remus shook his head and Sirius groaned in disappointment.

"You're all boring," Sirius complained.

"Go home Sirius, you've got work tomorrow." Remus stated.

Sirius nodded as he had only just remembered that Dumbledore had given him a mission in the morning and then he left the pub. Amelia was talking to some guy who sat at the bar, Hestia shook her head as if she couldn't believe what her friend was up to.

"Looks like she's hooking up tonight," Hestia sighed.

"It appears so." Remus agreed.

"Fancy a coffee at mine? You can talk to me about Mary if you like. I'm a good listener." Hestia offered.

Remus hesitated and considered her offer for a minute. It would be nice to catch up with some old classmates other than his normal friendship group.

"Sure that sounds nice." Remus smiled.

Hestia returned his smile and then took his hand and led him out of the door.

* * *

**A/N: My longest chapter yet, over 3000 words. Will try and get the next chapter up during the week. Please Read and Review :) **


	14. Chapter 14

December arrived rather suddenly that the group didn't really notice. Dumbledore had had the group on missions most days that the weeks flew by as their attention was always on what they had to do for the Order of the Phoenix. But now the Longbottom-Prewett wedding was only two days away and both Alice and Frank had never been more excited. The final preparations were already in place, all they had to do was the rehearsals.

Lily and James had announced to the group about their engagement a week and a half after Remus and Mary broke up. Their friends had been happy for them and Alice even joked that they should have had a joint wedding but Lily explained that they hadn't started their wedding planning yet. Peter joked that it would be Marlene and Sirius to tie the knot next, both had looked uncomfortable at the mention of marriage, they hadn't even moved in together yet.

Ever since they guys had had their night out, Peter had been seeing the blonde girl. He had even introduced her to the group. The girl's name was Celeste Rousseau, she was a year older than the group and being French, had attended Beauxbatons. Sirius had teased Peter about Celeste being interested in Peter. But Remus was happy for Peter. The way that Remus saw it was that Peter hadn't really ever had female attention as Sirius and James usually took the spotlight. Sirius felt slightly jealous that Peter had pulled himself a beautiful girl. Marlene often caught him staring whenever Celeste was visiting the group, she often had to slap him round the back of the head.

Remus was still trying to adjust to life without Mary. He hadn't seen her since the split. Lily and James had told them their news separately. Mary seemed to be spending more and more time at the office. She rarely responded to the letters that the group sent her. He was glad to have made a good friend in Hestia. He and Hestia met up on a weekly basis and had gotten to know each other since they ran into each other at Rosmerta's. The last time that they had hung out they had been listening to music on the wireless and Hestia had cooked them steak and chips for dinner.

Mary had been spending a lot more time at work. She was trying to take her mind off of Remus and thought that throwing herself into work would prevent her mind from straying if she had a lot to focus on. Mark had been a good friend to her during the past few weeks. She was looking forward to her promotion in the new year. In the new year she'd be shipped off to Paris for three months. It was just to see how things would go and if she liked the job. Mary felt that she couldn't turn the promotion down, it was her dream job and she had always wanted to travel. It was too much of a good opportunity to miss.

It was Friday evening, the group had just finished Alice and Frank's rehearsal ceremony. They had all headed back to James's house for a few drinks. Having already done the stag and hen do's, it was the last time they'd be hanging out as nine separate people. Tomorrow Alice would become Mrs Frank Longbottom. Even though it was only three months ago that the couple had gotten engaged, it felt like they had been engaged forever. The group chatted about various things, laughing at jokes and getting through several beers and bottles of wine.

"Remus are you still bringing Hestia to the reception?" asked Frank.

Alice slapped his arm, Frank had spoken without thinking of the consequences. Mary didn't know that Remus was spending time with Hestia Jones. Remus looked guiltily at Mary. Mary looked back at him with the same guilty expression.

"Yeah I am," Remus replied and took another swig of his beer.

"It's nice that you're spending time with other people." said Mary.

Everyone looked from Remus and then to Mary. The two had barely had a conversation that evening.

"She's been a good friend." stated Remus.

"I'm glad," Mary replied with a small smile.

Remus returned her smile but couldn't help suspecting that it was forced. He excused himself and retired to his bedroom for the night. Once he had left the room Mary let out a huge sigh.

"Is she only just a friend?" asked Mary with a tone of worry in her voice.

Marlene rolled her eyes.

"Who cares? You ended it with him Mary. Besides you're bringing Mark to the reception." Marlene pointed out.

"Little harsh Marley." Sirius muttered.

"She's right." sighed Mary.

"Mary, maybe you should go home and get some sleep?" Alice suggested.

Mary nodded silently and then left the house.

"Marlene that was a bit insensitive." Lily scolded.

"She doesn't have the right to get jealous when she ended the relationship." snapped Marlene.

"Come on let's get you home, I don't want you being sour tomorrow." said Sirius.

Marlene apologised to Lily and hugged the two remaining females before departing with Sirius. Peter too called it a night and went off to spend some time with Celeste. Only the four remained now.

"So have you two set a date yet?" asked Alice looking at Lily and James.

"No, we've been busy," James replied as he wrapped his arm around a sleepy looking Lily.

"Dumbledore keeps us all busy," Frank mused as he squeezed Alice tightly.

Lily smiled as James kissed her forehead. She didn't care about being affectionate in the company of their friends.

"Tomorrow should be interesting with Remus and Mary," said Alice placing her empty wine glass on the table.

"They won't cause a scene." said Lily.

"No I mean with their dates, even though they both pretend to be okay with each other moving on, they clearly aren't." Alice pointed out.

Lily nodded in agreement, not knowing what to say. From observing Remus and Mary over the course of the night, they barely spoke to each other. Except for asking how the other one was doing. Everyone had noticed that Mary looking at Remus hoping to catch his gaze and vice versa. Their body language said that they wanted to be with the other, but because they had split up, they wouldn't go near each other.

"I don't think there's anything we can do." Lily said quietly.

Alice nodded in agreement. The clock on the wall chimed ten o'clock. Frank rose from where he had been sitting, he gave Alice a quick kiss.

"I'm going home to get some sleep baby, I'll see you tomorrow," Frank whispered and then placed a kiss on her cheek.

Alice smiled dreamily and watched as Frank said his goodbyes to James and Lily and then left the house. Lily looked at her best friend and smiled.

"I can't believe tomorrow is the big day," Lily smiled.

Alice sighed happily, "I can't believe it either".

Alice bade the two of them goodnight before heading up to the guest room, as it was considered bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the ceremony, Lily had offered Alice to spend the night at the house with them and then get ready there the next day.

"We probably should start planning our wedding soon," James muttered as he stroked Lily's chin.

Lily looked up at him and smiled.

"After Alice and Frank's is over." said Lily and then placed her lips to James's and kissed him deeply.

* * *

**A/N: The next chapter will be Alice and Frank's wedding. Will probably be up by the end of the week.**


	15. Chapter 15

"I, Frank Longbottom take thee Alice Prewett to be my wife-

Lily smiled as she watched her best friend at the altar, with a smile like a Cheshire cat, saying her vows to her husband-to-be. The morning hadn't exactly gone smoothly. They had woken up late. James had used up all of the hot water when he had had his shower and Marlene had spilt red wine down her bridesmaids dress. Mary had to go to the office for a quick meeting which made them five minutes late for the ceremony. But on the plus side, Lily kept staring at James, she loved the way he looked in a suit.

The wizard announced Alice and Frank as husband and wife, and the room burst into applause as Frank kissed Alice. The newly-weds held hands as they walked down the aisle. Marlene followed, her arm linked with Sirius's and Mary shortly after, awkwardly linking her arm with Remus's. James and Lily met each other at in the middle of the purple carpet that matched her dress. She smiled as she wrapped her arm around James's and followed her best friend's out of the ceremonial room.

"Our turn next," said James with a grin.

Lily looked up at her fiancée with a smile.

"I have to say, I love you in a suit." She whispered mischievously.

James looked down at her with a grin. They were met outside with light snow laying on the ground. The group chattered away happily as the photographer took various photos. In a way, Lily felt that the wedding was similar to Petunia's. Except for the fact she was actually wanted at this wedding and the ceremony was lovelier. They posed for several photographs and then drove to the hall that they had hired for the wedding reception.

Alice and Frank had chosen a simple buffet instead of a sit down meal. They only wanted something small and simple, much to Augusta Longbottom's disapproval. Augusta had wanted a proper sit down, formal meal. But Alice said that she felt uncomfortable making people sit with other people they didn't know, forcing them to make small talk with each other. The buffet allowed people to eat whenever they liked, sit wherever they liked and talk to everyone. It didn't restrict them.

Mary had perked up a bit when Mark arrived. She instantly bought him a drink and took him away to sit at a table. Remus watched them jealously, this was obviously the guy who Mary felt confused about. He looked away and then smiled as he saw Hestia scanning the room for him. He got up from his table and went over to her. She hugged him and then Remus led her up to the bar to get her a drink.

Mary hadn't failed to notice Remus and Hestia. She felt a pang of hurt in her chest. Mark waved a hand in front of her eyes to get her attention back to him.

"Mary, ignore your ex-boyfriend." pleaded Mark.

Mary sighed and drained her drink dry, she placed the glass back on the table and took Mark's hand in his.

"I'm sorry, it's just hard." Mary sighed.

Mark leaned in closer to her.

"So let me help you move on." Mark whispered.

Mary looked at him questionably and before she could stop him, Mark planted a quick kiss on her lips. She looked at Mark confused, he had been a good friend, but had never shown any interest in her other than having her friendship.

"Mark what was that?" asked Mary quietly.

Mark smiled as he stroked her cheek.

"Shall we get out of here and discuss it?" asked Mark.

Mary bit her lip but nodded. Mark took her hand and led her out of the room. She didn't even get the chance to say goodbye to her friends, let alone thank Alice and Frank for included her as part of their big day.

Remus had seen the encounter between Mark and Mary and felt crushed. It had only been a month and already she was seeing someone new. She claimed she loved him, so how could she be moving on so quickly? He had felt a lot better in making a new friend in Hestia but that's all Hestia was. A good friend. Hestia looked at Remus, who was staring at the door that Mary and Mark had exited through, and patted his arm sympathetically.

"It will get better," Hestia affirmed.

Remus sighed as they sat down at an empty table.

"I still love her." He admitted.

"I wouldn't expect you not to." said Hestia.

Remus took a swig of his beer.

"How about we drink these and go back to yours, watch one of Lily's movies and talk?" suggested Hestia.

Remus looked at her and smiled.

"You're incredible, do you know that?" asked Remus.

"Why's that?" asked Hestia drinking her wine.

"You try your hardest to make me feel better." Remus replied.

Hestia smiled.

"Is it working?" asked Hestia.

"If you hadn't been there for me for the past few weeks, I would've been more of a mess than I am now." said Remus.

"Then I still have more work to do Lupin," chuckled Hestia.

It was time for the couple's first dance. Lily watched as Alice and Frank swayed in time to the slow song that they had picked, she had never seen Alice so happy. She smiled as she saw Marlene drag Sirius onto the dance floor. Sirius reluctantly wrapped his arms around Marlene's waist and they too began to move to the slow music. Sirius soon got into it as he kissed Marlene. It was as if Sirius was a natural at heart. James looked at Lily with a gleam in his eye, he didn't need to ask her. She took his hand and led him into the small crowd of dancing couples. They too swayed to the music.

A little while later, Alice and Frank were thanking everyone who had attended and then left for their two week honeymoon in Rome. Lily, Marlene, James and Sirius found themselves sat at a table, all tired from the long day.

"It was such a lovely ceremony." yawned Marlene.

"Marriage will suit them," said Sirius as he rested his head on Marlene's shoulder.

"It won't be happening for you two any time soon then?" asked Lily.

Marlene rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"Nah, this numpty already does my head in." Marlene crooned as she ruffled her boyfriend's hair.

"And I'd like someone who could cook for me," Sirius teased.

Marlene pouted and kicked Sirius in the leg. Sirius grunted in slight pain. Lily yawned and stretched her arms out widely. James chuckled at how tired his fiancée was.

"Bed time" James chimed.

Lily looked at him and grinned.

"Only if you join me." She hinted.

Marlene pretended to vomit.

"Hypocrite." James whispered.

Lily and James hugged the other couple goodbye and then left the hall. They apparated back to the house and went up to the bedroom. Lily collapsed onto the bed, not bothering to change into her nightwear. James took his glasses off and placed them on his bedside table. He kicked off his shoes before snuggling up to Lily.

"Can we plan ours tomorrow?" asked Lily sleepily.

James kissed her forehead.

"Of course." promised James.

Lily sighed happily before falling asleep in his arms.


	16. Chapter 16

Christmas came and went rather quickly, the group did their own things with their families. Remus went to his parents house for the holidays whilst Peter invited Celeste over to spend Christmas with him and his mother. Sirius was invited round the McKinnon household and Lily and James had their own celebrations with a small turkey dinner to celebrate their first Christmas as an engaged couple. Mary too, went home to her parents house and often wrote to Mark, she was now seeing her boss but taking things rather slowly. Alice and Frank were still on their honeymoon and wouldn't be back until December 31st for Mary's leaving do.

Sadly, Dorea and Charlus Potter had both been caught up in a hurricane in Florida. They had both been killed and it was on boxing day when James received the news of his parent's deaths. James was devastated, he didn't get to say goodbye. The minister had arranged for two of Charlus's co-workers to escort the bodies back to England so that James could bury them. James mostly kept himself busy and volunteered to go on missions for the Order. Lily didn't know what to do. She tried to comfort him but he wouldn't allow himself to grieve. He mostly cleaned the house from top to bottom and although Lily didn't complain about the house being tidy, she was starting to get worried about him.

December 30th. The ministry officials came to tell James that his parent's bodies were at the ministry. James threw himself into planning the funerals, he wanted them buried by the end of the first week of January. Lily helped with the flowers, the cars and the church where James's parent's had bought a a crypt for the two of them to be buried when they died. The funerals were all set for January 5th.

It was later that day when James had gone to take a nap. Lily decided to leave him alone, she thought it would be best to give him some alone time. She was sat eating her dinner when there was a squawk and Fawkes the phoenix flew in through the open kitchen window. He dropped a feather and a sealed note onto the table before disappearing into the night.

Lily dropped her knife and fork to her plate and picked up the note. She knew it was another mission from Dumbledore.

_Lily_

_I require you to meet Miss McKinnon at her residence at 8pm. She has instructions on what you both need to do. _

-_Albus Dumbledore. _

Lily looked up at the clock on the kitchen wall and saw she needed to meet Marlene in half an hour. She rose from the table and took her plate to the sink to rinse it off and then washed her hands. Then she pulled out some parchment, quill and ink from the kitchen drawer and scribbled a note to James so he would know where she had gone and that she didn't know when she would be back. There was a chance that he wouldn't see it but she couldn't bring herself to not let him know where she had gone. If something happened to her whilst on this mission, she didn't want James to be even more devastated in wondering where she had died. She walked into the hallway and pulled her cloak off of the coat rack. Lily threw it around her shoulders, fastened it and then apparated to Marlene's house.

Lily reached Marlene's house in a matter of seconds. She knocked on the door and Marlene's younger sister Marissa answered the door. Lily entered the hallway of the McKinnon home and Marlene came rushing downstairs.

"Hello Lily, how are you?" asked Mrs McKinnon.

"Good thank you, how are you?" asked Lily politely.

Mrs McKinnon smiled at her, "I'm good thank you dear, how is James doing? My Myron is in pieces. He and Charlus were such good friends." she said sadly.

"He's keeping himself busy." replied Lily.

"Poor boy, at least he has a nice girl like you." Mrs McKinnon complimented.

Lily smiled, "I'm there when he needs me, he hasn't really spoken about it yet." sighed Lily.

"Can I take your cloak?" asked Mrs McKinnon.

"No thank you, Marley and I were just on our way out." said Lily.

"Well have a good new year Lily and give my best to James." said Mrs McKinnon sympathetically.

Marlene, who had been trying to find her shoes, was pulling them on her feet and then wrapped her cloak around her shoulders. She cast a silencing charm around her and Lily so that no-one could overhear their conversation.

"So what's the mission?" asked Lily.

"Regulus Black, Sirius's little brother, says he has vital information about the Death Eaters and Voldemort that he wishes to share with us." Marlene started off.

"Isn't he a Death Eater?" Lily questioned.

"Yes, but he told Sirius that he's having second thoughts. He did want Sirius to go but he refused. Sirius doesn't want anything to do with his family. So Sirius told Dumbledore about his correspondence with his little brother and Dumbledore asked if you and I would go." Marlene finished.

"What if it's a trap?" asked Lily.

"I've seen the letters myself, Regulus seems scared shitless." Marlene informed.

Lily hesitated for a few minutes before deciding to go with Marlene. She couldn't let her best friend go alone.

"Okay, I'm in but we be careful. If it's a trap, we apparate straight to Rosmerta's, that way we can get a message to Dumbledore quickly." said Lily.

Marlene nodded in agreement before undoing her silencing charm and shouted her goodbyes to her family. Then she and Lily exited the house and using side-along apparation they went to the place where Regulus requested a meeting.

* * *

**A/N: I'm going to leave this chapter here making you all wonder whether Lily and Marlene are going to be in a trap or not. Will they or won't they be making Mary's leaving do? **

**As always reviews are welcome. **


	17. Chapter 17

Lily and Marlene appeared on top of a hill somewhere in the Wiltshire countryside. A harsh wind swept through the trees like a hungry predator looking for it's prey. Lily pulled her cloak tighter around her body, trying to stay warm. They didn't move from the spot where they stood, Lily looked around trying to see if anyone was approaching them. There was nobody around. Both girls shivered as the winter cold started to freeze them to the bone. After a while of waiting and teeth chattering away, Lily turned to her best friend.

"Maybe we should go," Lily suggested, pulling her cloak as tight as she could around her.

Marlene looked once again around them, still nobody was coming. Marlene turned back to face Lily.

"Five more minutes and then we'll go," sighed Marlene.

Lily said nothing but nodded her head slowly. The trees were blowing more violently in the wind as both girls continued to look around. There was still no sign of Regulus Black. She was starting to wish that she and Marlene hadn't come to this supposed meeting with a Death Eater. It was freezing cold and Lily was begin to wonder if James had seen the note she had left for him. A part of her knew that she shouldn't have come on this mission. If something bad happened, James would be devastated if she died. If she got seriously hurt, she knew that James would never forgive her. He had already lost two of the most important people in his life, she knew that he didn't want to lose anyone else.

They heard footsteps coming behind them, walking through the trees. The sound of snapping twigs and rustling leaves on the soggy grass below their feet. Marlene and Lily turned to face a tall man whose face was hidden beneath the thick black hood of their travelling cloak. They didn't release the hood as the man stopped merely five feet in front of them. Marlene shivered as she took a step closer to the man.

"Regulus?" asked Marlene cautiously.

The man chuckled and then lowered his hood. It was Avery, their classmate who had been in Slytherin. He had once asked Marlene out in their school days, Marlene had turned him down. He had only chosen to ask her out because Marlene was a pureblood.

"McKinnon, Evans. You really didn't suspect that the Dark Lord would find out about the Black boy's plan?" cackled Avery.

Lily looked at Marlene, her heart falling in her chest. She was right it had been a trap. The girls looked at Avery with pure hatred and then noticed that Avery was not alone. Four more men surrounded them, making escape seem impossible. Lily edged closer to her best friend, their elbows touching. Avery didn't seem to notice how close they were.

"Regulus Black is dead. Whatever message he had for you will never be given. The Dark Lord wishes you to tell that fool Dumbledore that he knows what he is up to and the Dark Lord promises death will follow if the oaf continues to stand in his way." declared Avery.

Avery moved closer to Marlene and stroked her face with a smirk on his face.

"Such a pity McKinnon. You could have had such power if you didn't refuse me." whispered Avery.

Marlene's hand connected sharply to the side of Avery's face, leaving a bright red mark in it's place. Avery placed a hand over the cheek that Marlene had just slapped, it was obvious that it had stung him. The other four men walked to Avery's side. Lily and Marlene slowly retreated backwards. Lily slowly pulled up wand out of her back pocket, keeping her arm behind her back.

"We'd prefer if you came quietly, the Dark Lord wants both of you." Avery sneered.

Still retreating, Marlene pulled her wand out and placed the tip into Avery's throat. Avery lowered his eyes to glare at her. He understood that the girls weren't going to do as he had requested. Lily pulled her wand out in front of her and she too, pointed it at Avery. The other four men raised their wands too.

"Last chance McKinnon." snarled Avery.

"Never." Marlene replied confidently.

Lily grabbed hold of Marlene's wrist, raised her wand high and screamed "EXPLUSO!" as loud as she could. A burst of blue light and an explosion erupted and the Death Eaters were thrown metres away. Marlene and Lily turned around and ran through the trees. They could hear the Death Eaters rising to their feet and running after them. The two girls stopped for a moment to catch their breath.

"We need to go." said Lily desperately.

Marlene grabbed a hold of Lily's hands but before they could apparate, Mulciber shot a curse at Lily. The curse hit Lily in the chest and she fell to the ground. Marlene screamed and lifted Lily over her shoulder. She sent a curse back at Mulciber who went flying back a few feet and knocked into a tree before falling to the ground unconcious. She quickly thought hard of James's house and then with a pop, she disappeared.


	18. Chapter 18

Lily awoke with an aching pain in her chest and pieces of what happened the night before. All she could remember was that she and Marlene had gone to meet Regulus Black and instead Death Eaters had been sent to capture them and Regulus Black had been killed. She remembered sending the expulso curse at the Death Eaters and then she and Marlene. She didn't remember anything after they had decided to apparate. She looked up at the ceiling, her vision slightly blurred. She tried to sit up but groaned in pain and felt strong hands gently push her down back onto the bed. Lily looked to her right to see James staring blankly at her.

"You're awake," James breathed happily, taking Lily's hand in both of his.

Lily smiled weakly and moved her right hand to stroke his cheek. A pang of guilt hit her stomach and she felt like throwing up. She wished now that she hadn't gone on the mission. She wished that Marlene hadn't gone either. They had fallen into a trap and from what Lily guessed, they had only narrowly escaped. Lily looked into James's eyes, he looked tired. The bags under his eyes, enlarged by his glasses, were enough evidence that he hadn't slept.

"What happened?" Lily asked in a croaky voice.

"As you and Marlene were about to apparate, Mucliber shot a curse at you and it hit you in the chest. Marlene picked you up and apparated the both of you back here. Remus summoned a healer, I had to use rennervate to revive you. The healer checked you over and said you would be okay if you rested and left some potion for the pain," James explained, his voice close to cracking.

Lily looked at him guiltily.

"I'm so sorry," She whispered, closing her eyes and a tear leaked out of the corner of her eye.

James cupped her chin and moved his head to hers, his forehead and nose touching her soft skin. His breath tickling her face. She moved her hand from his cheek to his back, encouraging him to stay as close as he could to her.

"Lily, I love you." James whispered, tears flowing freely down his cheeks.

"I love you too," Lily replied as she kissed his nose.

James smiled a watery smile as he sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"I'm so sorry James, I shouldn't have gone." She said.

"Lily, I'm not angry with you. I'm relieved that I still have you," said James softly.

Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. James obliged by moving into a more comfortable position, but hovered above her so that he wouldn't crush her chest. He didn't want her to be in any more pain than she already was. Lily held him there, relieved that her fiancée wasn't angry with her. They both stayed in that position, their body heat warming each other from the chilly room.

"Marry me," James breathed into her ear.

Lily frowned and looked her fiancée in the eyes, wondering why he had said that when she had already agreed to be his wife someday.

"I already said yes silly," Lily smiled as she ran her hand through his messy black hair.

James looked down into her green eyes. Lily locked her gaze with him, his eyes had never shown so much desperation before.

"Lily, I don't want to wait any more, I want to make you my wife as soon as possible," James confessed.

Lily stroked his cheek, the smile still on her face.

"You're only saying that because tonight you could've lost me," Lily pointed out.

James shook his head in disagreement.

"That's not the main reason. I love you so much that everyday that you aren't Mrs Lily Potter, it makes me wonder when you will be. I want you to fight by my side when we face Voldemort and his followers not as my fiancée but as my wife," James affirmed.

Lily felt tears of happiness pouring from her eyes as she leaned up and claimed James's lips in a deep kiss. She gathered all the energy she had and continued to kiss him fiercely, hoping that he would recognise this as her agreeing to marry him as soon as possible. After several minutes, James pulled away and gasped for breath. He looked down at Lily, but said nothing until his breathing became even. He met Lily's gaze and grinned.

"Was that a yes?" He asked.

Lily rolled her eyes and grinned, "Yes it was, do you need me to answer you again?" She asked.

James moved his mouth back down to hers and kissed her enthusiastically. She wrapped her arms around James's neck, only pulling away to catch her breath before returning to his lips once more. What both of them didn't realise was that Sirius was stood in the doorway smirking at what his best friends were doing. He coughed loudly and the two of them looked in his direction. Both evidently annoyed that they had been interrupted.

"I gave you a key for emergencies," James grumbled.

Sirius grinned, "As much as I would love to leave you snogging Evans, it's nearly three and the others are downstairs. Although we understand if you want to rest Lily." Sirius said.

Lily looked at James, "Help me up, I want to sit downstairs for a while." She said quietly.

James nodded slowly and gently helped Lily out of the bed. Sirius had gone back downstairs as James lifted Lily from her feet and cradled her in his arms as he went downstairs after Sirius.

"James I'm sure I can walk," Lily tried to protest.

"The healer said you need rest, you can see Mary off but then bed. Work have signed you off for a few weeks and I'm taking care of you," James said firmly.

Lily sighed, she knew that there was no point in arguing with him. They entered the living room where James placed Lily on the sofa. Everyone gently hugged Lily and asked if she was okay. She insisted that she was and when Marlene hugged her, she held on a bit longer in the hug than she had done with the others.

"Thank you Marley," Lily whispered in her friend's ear.

Marlene pulled away and smiled slightly at her.

"I did what I had to," Marlene stated.

Everyone enjoyed conversation, jokes and drinks as the night went on. Lily observed that there were awkward glances between Remus and Mary over the course of the night. It was clear that the two of them still loved each other even though Mary was now seeing Mark. Lily knew that Mary assumed that Remus was seeing Hestia, but Remus had told everyone that Hestia was just being a good friend.

At 10 o'clock, Mary found herself in the kitchen alone with Remus. They were both washing and drying up the dirty dishes from dinner. Mary had insisted on being helpful even if it was her leaving do. Remus had offered his help and Mary felt that she couldn't refuse his offer. It would look as if she didn't want Remus around. As they finished washing and drying the last plate, Remus turned to Mary.

"I just wanted to say, good luck with the new job," smiled Remus.

Mary looked up at him quizzically.

"Thanks but why? I've been awful to you." said Mary.

Remus took her hand without thinking. His smile never left his face as he looked into her chocolate brown eyes. Even though she had broken up with him and started seeing her boss so soon after their break up, he still cared for her deeply. He still loved her and he hoped desperately that for now, she still loved him.

"I still love you," He admitted.

Mary squeezed his hand gently and smiled up at him. She gently ran her thumb over one of the scars on his face.

"I'll write to you when I'm away if you like?" asked Mary.

"I'd like that," Remus replied.

Both of them could tell that the atmosphere between them was still awkward. Before Remus could stop himself, he bent his head down to hers and kissed her lightly. Mary felt herself responding and deepening the kiss. She knew that she shouldn't be kissing her ex-boyfriend like this, she shouldn't be kissing him at all. She was with Mark now. But she couldn't stop herself, she had missed Remus. She knew that she still loved him and tonight would be the perfect way to say goodbye. Remus pulled away and stepped back from her.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," Remus apologised.

Mary smiled brightly, looked around and saw that nobody was watching them, Everyone else was too busy conversing to notice that Mary took Remus's hand and quietly led him out of the kitchen. As they reached the stairs, Remus stopped her.

"What are we doing?" whispered Remus.

Mary sighed and gently pecked his lips. Remus looked at her confused. What did this mean?

"I want to spend one last night with you," Mary replied.

"To say goodbye?" asked Remus.

"I can't imagine a more perfect way," hinted Mary.

And with that, Remus grinned and took her hand and led Mary up the stairs to his bedroom.


	19. Chapter 19

The next morning Remus awoke to see Mary getting dressed. He sat up and smiled as she turned around to face him. Their brown eyes meeting each other. It felt slightly awkward between them given the events of last night. But Remus relaxed as Mary leant over and kissed his forehead. He took her hand and his eyes silently begged her not to leave. Mary sighed unhappily, as if she could read his thoughts.

"I have to go Remus," She said quietly.

Remus nodded sadly, he had been dreading this day for a while now. He was really going to miss Mary when she went. But it was good for her, he kept reminding himself. It wasn't everyday that she got an opportunity to travel in her dream job.

"I don't regret last night," Mary added with a smile.

Remus smiled brightly as he tucked her brown hair over her back.

"Good luck Mary," Remus murmured as he kissed her cheek.

He blinked in confusion as Mary moved her lips to his and kissed him deeply, wrapping her arms around his neck. His hands moved down her back as he responded to her kiss. Mary pulled away and took a deep breath.

"What was that?" asked Remus after a few minutes of silence.

Mary giggled, "Last night I felt that we reconnected,".

Remus nodded in agreement, last night had been rather spectacular for the both of them. He had missed spending the night with his ex-girlfriend. Although he was beginning to hope that she would change her mind about their split. But he knew that there was a possibility that last night had been a one-off, she might not want to reconcile with him, she was heading for Paris in a few hours after all.

"I felt that too," Remus agreed with a nod.

Mary smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair, she loved the softness of it. She always had done.

"I'm back in March, can we see each other then? See how things are when I return?" asked Mary.

Remus sighed, "Don't give me false hope, Mary" he whispered.

"That isn't my intention, I want to be with you Remus. Last night reminded me of how good things used to be. But I think we need to take some time to do our own thing, then when Paris is out of my system, I'll return and we can decide whether to try again," explained Mary.

Remus stroked her cheek affectionately and gave her a warm smile.

"Okay I can do that, but what about Mark?" asked Remus.

"I'll tell him it's over," replied Mary.

Remus kissed her quickly before she pulled away and said goodbye. He was feeling happier than he had in months at a possible future with Mary.

* * *

Lily and James were sat in the kitchen making wedding plans. They had decided to marry at the end of January, a small ceremony with their family and friends. They had agreed to use James's parents wedding rings and hold the ceremony in the church where Lily's parents got married. They were about to decide on what they should do at the wedding reception when they saw Mary sneaking down the stairs.

"Enjoy last night Mary?" called James with a grin.

Mary entered the kitchen, flushing scarlet. Lily looked up at her best friend with a grin on her face.

"I didn't think anyone noticed," replied Mary.

"It was your leaving do, and when you and Remus disappeared, we came to the conclusion that you two would be spending the night together," teased James.

"So, what are you guys doing?" asked Mary, changing the subject.

"Making wedding plans," answered Lily.

"Awwh when are you planning the wedding for?" gushed Mary.

"End of the month," replied James with a small smile for Lily.

Mary's excitement fell from her face, Lily looked at her worriedly.

"You can't make it can you?" asked Lily in a disappointed tone.

"I'm afraid I can't, I'm so sorry Lily, I really wanted to be there," Mary apologised.

"It's fine, I understand you've got your promotion," said Lily with a smile.

Mary checked her watch and saw that if she didn't go home to get her things, she'd be late in meeting Mark.

"I have to go Lil, but have a good wedding and I'll owl as soon as I can," promised Mary.

Lily smiled and rose from the table. She hugged Mary tightly and with a parting smile, Mary left the house.

Remus joined them ten minutes later in a rather cheery mood.

"Good morning," Remus said pleasantly.

"You enjoy yourself last night?" asked James with a smirk.

"Yes I did," Remus grinned as he sat opposite James.

Lily looked up from the wedding plans with raised eyebrows, she could sense that there was more to last night between her best friends than just sleeping together. Remus looked at Lily with a bright smile, she hadn't seen that smile in a while.

"Mary and I had a little chat, when she returns in March we're going to talk about possibly getting back together," said Remus.

"That's great!" said Lily brightly.

"Thank you Lily," said Remus.

"I'm happy that you two might get together again, but you're just going to wait around?" asked James.

Remus frowned.

"Yes and No, I'm going to do what I need to do as is she, then we'll talk," said Remus.

"Moony, I don't want you to get your hopes up if she decides she's moved on," stressed James.

"She's promised me that we'll talk, that's all I'm hoping for right now," Remus stated.

James said nothing more on the subject, he just didn't want Mary to mess Remus around as everyone knew that Remus wanted to give his relationship with Mary another chance. James made them all something to eat and the owl delivered the morning paper. Remus instantly picked the paper up and started to read it. Lily put away the wedding plans and smiled gratefully as she took her scrambled eggs on toast from James. Remus thanked James for his breakfast and the three of them discussed James and Lily's wedding plans.

The others came round in the afternoon to hear their plans and to celebrate New Years Day together. Celeste joined them at four in the afternoon and gushed over Lily's wedding plans. Lily, having taken a liking to Peter's new girlfriend, invited her to the wedding. The watched Lily's movies, told Sirius to shut up on multiple occasions as he kept asking questions during the films and drank a lot of firewhiskey. Peter and Sirius went to the local Chinese takeaway to get them all some dinner and Alice and Frank showed them their honeymoon pictures.

Lily couldn't help but enjoy herself, it was times like this that she truly felt happy, surrounded by all her friends. Everyone was getting excited for her upcoming wedding to James. But no-one was more excited than her.

* * *

**A/N: I know this chapter sucked a bit. Next one will be James and Lily's wedding. **

**As always, reviews are welcome. **


	20. Chapter 20

Lily and James's wedding day had finally arrived. Knowing that Lily would worry about everything, James had forbidden her from doing the last minute arrangements for the wedding. Lily had gone to stay at Alice and Frank's house with Marlene and Alice whilst the guys had stayed at James's house to help James with the preparations. Even though Lily had reluctantly agreed to letting James take control, she was still worried about him. His parent's funerals had taken place a few weeks previously and although she was glad that he had finally come to terms with his parent's deaths and broke down in tears at the graveside, she was still worried that he was trying to stay distracted in case he had another emotional breakdown.

Lily felt slightly relieved that the wedding was happening so quickly. She didn't want a particularly long engagement, but due to her friends getting married first, she didn't want Alice to feel like Lily was taking the spotlight if she started planning her wedding at the same time as Alice. But now it was her turn. In a few hours she would be Mrs Lily Potter. Anyone who she went to school with, outside of their friendship group, would be wondering why Lily Evans was marrying James Potter when she had disliked him for the first six years of their education.

The girls opened a bottle of champagne and changed into their dresses before helping Lily into hers. She had chosen an ivory dress with a corset fitted top and the skirt clung to her figure with a slight flow outwards from the hips and down to her feet. She wore a matching shoes and her grandmother's white gold jewellery. The girls gushed over how beautiful she looked, with her long red hair cascading down her back in loose curls. The cars arrived at Alice's house and they all squealed excitedly as they left and carefully climbed into the back of the car. The driver started the car and made the journey to the church.

"Nervous Lily?" asked Marlene.

Lily let out a deep breath and nodded. She was nervous, but in a good way. She had never been married before so she was excited to be able to go up the aisle on her dad's arm and then she'd just focus on James.

The car slowly pulled up outside of the church and Lily smiled as her dad held out his hand and helped her out of the car. Her dad smiled down at her as he kissed her cheek. Happy tears welled up in his eyes.

"You look beautiful, Lily," John complimented.

"Thanks Daddy," smiled Lily.

"I can't believe my baby girl is getting married," gushed Rose as she hugged her daughter.

Lily hugged her mother in return and smiled as Rose headed back into the church. It was finally time. The wedding march began to play and Marlene and Alice went into the church first, slowly walking up the aisle in their purple dresses which matched the carpet that led to the altar. Lily petals were scattered all over the carpet. Lily smiled, knowing that had to be one of James's last minute ideas. It was a lovely surprise.

"Lily, are you ready?" asked John.

Lily looked at her father and grinned, "Yes," she replied and linked arms with her father.

John and Lily slowly walked up the aisle as the people rose, they smiled as she passed them, not that she paid any attention to the guests. Her eyes were fixed on her husband-to-be at the altar. James looked as though he had stopped breathing, Lily smiled brightly. When she reached James, John gave her hand over to James and sat down next to Rose. James took Lily's hand and gave it a light squeeze as he helped her up the small step to stand next to him.

"You are so beautiful," James whispered in her ear as they faced the vicar.

Lily didn't have time to reply, the vicar cleared his throat and the organ ceased playing. Everyone sat back down in their seats and all eyes faced the front as Lily and James stood to face one another.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join James Potter and Lily Evans in holy matrimony-

Lily listened to the vicar saying his sermon but her eyes were locked into James's hazel ones. She had never see so much love in them than right at this moment, she just hoped that James could see how much love she had for him in hers.

"I, James Potter, take thee Lily Evans to be my lawfully wedded wife. In sickness and in health, for better, for worse, til death us do part," breathed James and slid the wedding band delicately onto Lily's finger.

"I, Lily Evans, take thee James Potter to be my lawfully wedded husband. In sickness and in health, for better, for worse, til death us do part," Lily smiled as she placed the wedding band on James's finger.

"I know pronounce you husband and wife," announced the vicar loudly.

James didn't wait to be told that he could kiss his newly wedded wife. He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he lifted her off her feet. Although everyone in the church were on their feet applauding their union, Lily only focused on her husband. After what felt like forever, James set her back down on her feet.

The newlyweds held hands and walked back up the aisle with everyone cheering around them. The planning had finally paid off. She was now Mrs Potter. The January sun hit them in the face as they exited the church and confetti flew everywhere around them as people chucked it happily in the air as they stopped in the church doorway so that the photographer could takes photos. Sirius punched James playfully on the arms as a congratulations. Remus shook James's hand and hugged Lily, everything in this moment was truly perfect.

Lily looked up at her husband, James bent his head down so he could hear what she had to say.

"Promise me that this won't ever change?" asked Lily with a small smile.

James looked at his new wife, her question could have been about anything. But he seemed to understand what she was referring too.

"Us Lily? We won't ever change," He promised and bent down to kiss her cheek.


End file.
